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AUTHOR: 


HARRISON,  JAMES  A 


TITLE : 


SPAIN 


PLACE: 


BOSTON 

DA  TE : 

1881 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC  MirROFORM  TARHFT 


Master  Negative  it 


Original  Material  as  FUmed  -  Existing  Bibliographic  Record 


946 
H246 


I 


Harrison,  James  Albert,  1848-1911. 

Spain,  by  James  H. ,!,  Harrison  ...     Witli  one  hundred  illus- 
trations.   iJoston,  Estes  and  Lauriat,  1881. 

ioi        [uniovei.  ine  Library  of  entertaining  history) 


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li^paln— Hist. 


Library  of  Congress 


DI'68.FI2S     ISSla 


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43-J0S2S 


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THE  PANDERON  IN  THE  SIERRA  NEVADA. 


I. 


SPAIN 


BY 


JAMES     H.     HARRISON 

Washington  and  Lee   University 


WITH     ONE    HUNDRED     ILLUSTRATIONS 


■^xx* 


»   I  - 


PUBLISHED     BY     ESTES.   AND  '  LAURIAT 

301-305     WASHINGIO-N  '  S  TREET  »    •     ..  » 

I  88  I*       " 


«   « 


I. 


THE  PANDERON  IN  THE  SIERRA  NEVADA. 


SPAIN 


BY 


JAMES     H.     HARRISON 

IVasking-ton  and  Lee   University 


WITH    OME    HUNDRED    ILLUSTRATIONS 


■ooXXc 


»    I 


L  1  • 


PUBLISHED     BY    ESTES.   AND     LAURIAT 
301-305    Washington  •  Street  .   •     * 
I  881'        •"        •    '    ^ 


^^^.^TpS^S^. 


J  oh  a  Bates  Oiark 
Oot.  16,  IdiO 


Copyright,    1881, 


By  D.  Lothrop  &  Company. 


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PreHH-work  /'.y  liorkicell  tt  Churchill. 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


In  ihe  preparation  of  this  sketch  of  the  "  History  of  Spain" 
the  author  has  endeavored  to  use  only  such  authorities  as  are 
acknowledged  by  special  students  to  be  the  best.  The  popular 
plan  of  the  series  did  not  admit  of  exact  references,  in  foot-notes 
or  otherwise;  hence  the  necessity  of  briefly  referring  here  to  the 
sources  from  which  the  narrative  is  drawn. 

Twenty-nine  authors  have  contributed  to  what  has  been  said  in 
the  text,  making  in  all  between  sixty  and  seventy  volumes.  Many 
authors,  such  as  Gibbon,  Buckle,  O'Shea,  Borrow,  and  others, 
have  been  read,  either  in  full  when  they  referred  to  Spain,  or  in 
part  on  special  points  connected  with  the  history,  and  are  not 
included  in  this  list. 

For  the  introductory  period  the  narration  is  chiefly  indebted  to 
the  Roman  Histories  of  Mommsen  and  Merivale,  Rosseeuw  St. 
Hilaire's  "  Histoire  d'Espagne  "  (vol.  i.),  and  vol.  i.  of  Dunham's 
"  History  of  Spain  and  Portugal  "  (5  vols. :  Harper,  1872).  The 
statistics  are  taken  from  Martin's  "  Statesman's  Year-Book " 
(1879),  a  well-known  work,  drawn  from  official  Spanish  sources. 

In  his  account  of  the  Gothic  period  the  author  has  followed 
F.  Dahn's  "Konige  der  Germanen,  Funfte  u  Sechste  Abthei- 
lung"  (Wurzburg,  1871).  Dahn  is  the  great  authority  on  the 
subject.  Lembke  and  Schafer's  "  Geschichte  von  Spanien" 
(3  vols.,  1841-1863)  contributed  essentially  to  this  part  of  the 
work,  as  did  also  Dr.  E.  A.  Freeman's  article  on  the  "  Goths  " 
in  the  "  Encyclopedia  Britannica"  (9th  ed.). 

The  chief  authorities  on  the  Mahometan  period  were  Dozy's 
"Histoire  des  Musulmans   d'Espagne"  (4  vols.,  Leyden,   1861), 


VI 


Prefatory  Note. 


Prefatory  Note. 


Vll 


' - 


Lembke  and  Schafer's  "  Geschichte  von  Spanien "  (vols,  i.,  ii., 
and  iii.),  and  Rosseeuw  St.  Hilaire's  "  Histoire  d'Espagne  "  (vols, 
ii.,  iii.,  iv.).  Irving's  "Life  of  Mahomet"  and  Coppee's  "  Moor- 
ish Conquest  of  Spain"  (2  vols.,  i88r)  furnished  some  valuable 
hints  in  connection  with  this  part  of  the  text.  The  information 
on  Moorish  architecture  and  literature  was  obtained  from  Lembke 
and  Schafer's  "  Geschichte,"  Fergusson's  "  History  of  Architect- 
ure," Contreras'  "  Monumentos  Arabes  "  (Seville,  1878),  Schack's 
"Kunst  und  Poesie  der  Araber  in  Spanien  und  Sicilien  (2  vols., 
Berlin,  1S65),  and  W.  G  Palgrave's  articles  in  the  "  Encyclopedia 
Britannica  "  (9th  ed.) 

For  the  Cid  and  his  period  the  "Romancero  del  Cid  "  (Leip- 
zig, 187 1 )  and  Dozy's  important  "  Recherches  sur  I'histoire  poli- 
tique et  litteraire  de  I'Espagne  pendant  le  Moyen-Age  "  (2  vols., 
Leyden,  i86o)  have  been  followed. 

For  the  middle  period  of  Christian  and  Mussulman  Spain, 
Lembke  and  Schafer,  Rosseeuw  St.  Hilaire  (vols,  iii.,  iv.,  v.),  and 
Froissart  have  been  followed. 

Prescott's  researches  on  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 
and  Robertson's  and  Prescott's  on  the  reign  of  Charles  V.,  will 
be  found  to  have  been  especially  followed  for  the  period  when 
Spain  first  became  a  great  European  power. 

In  the  chapter  on  the  Spanish  Navigators,  Irving's  "  Life  of 
Columbus  "  and  the  companion  volume  on  the  lesser  navigators, 
Prescott's  "Conquest  of  Mexico"  and  "Conquest  of  Peru" 
(4  vols.),  and  the  article  on  the  Spanish-American  colonies  in  the 
ninth  edition  of  the  "  Encyclopedia  Britannica,"  have  been  used. 
As  Prescott's  conception  of  the  "  Empire  "  of  Montezuma  is  now 
proved  to  be  entirely  wrong,  the  author  has  endeavored  to  give 
the  results  of  the  most  recent  research  in  this  department  by 
presenting  the  views  of  Messrs.  A.  F.  Bandelier  and  Dr.  L.  H. 
Morgan  ("  Social  Organization  and  Mode  of  Government,"  "  Dis- 
tribution and  Tenure  of  Lands,"  "Art  of  War  and  Mode  of  War- 
fare "  of  the  Ancient  Mexicans  ;  "Ancient  Society  ")  as  a  substi- 
tute for  Prescott's.  The  work  of  Dr.  G.  Briihl  on  Peru  ("  Die 
Culturvolker  Alt-Amerikas,"  1877)  has  also  been  consulted. 

Prescott's  unfinished  "  Philip  II."  and  Motley's  two  invaluable 
Histories  cover  the  period  from  1550  to  1600.     Llorente's  work 


on  the  "  Inquisition  "  is  the  main  authority  for  the  workings  of 
the  institution  popularly  ascribed  to  St  Dominic. 

For  the  period  reaching  from  the  reign  of  Philip  II.  to  the 
reign  of  Isabella  II.  many  works  have  been  consulted,  principally 
Rosseeuw  St.  Hilaire's  "  Histoire  "  and  Baumgarten's  "Geschichte 
Spaniens"    (Berlin,    1861),   with   some   help   from  Dunham  and 

others. 

For  contemporary  Spanish  history,  Baumgarten,  A.  W.  Lau- 
ser's  "Geschichte  Spaniens"  (2  vols.,  1877),  and  Mazade's  "Re- 
volutions de  I'Espagne"  (i  vol.,  1854-68),  have  been  used. 

Numerous  books  of  travel,  Spruner's  atlases,  and  extensive 
personal  observation,  have  contributed  to  a  knowledge  of  locali- 
ties. 

The  maps  are  reduced  from  Spruner's;  the  translations  of 
poems  are  by  Lockhart,  Scott,  Lord  Byron,  Bishop  Percy,  and 
Motley;  and  the  notices  of  Spanish  literature  are  chiefly  given 
on  the  authority  of  Ticknor's  "  History  of  Spanish  Literature  " 
(3  vols.,  1872).  The  genealogical  tables  of  the  kingdoms  of  Cas- 
tile and  Aragon  and  the  Houses  of  Habsburg  and  Bourbon  are 
reprinted  here  from  Mr.  H.  B.  George's  "  Genealogical  Tables  " 
(last  edition,  Macmillan,  1875),  ^^'^^^  ^^^  ^"^^  permission  of  Mr. 
George  and  the  Delegates  of  the  Clarendon  Press.  The  list  of 
Visigothic  kings  is  Dahn's ;  the  list  of  sultans  was  compiled  by 
the  author  from  Dozy. 

The  special  student  —  if  the  author  can  hope  for  such  for  his 
imperfect  and  unpretending  work  —  may  notice  the  absence  of  all 
reference  to  the  compilations  of  J.  A.  Conde,  Al-Makkari's  "  Mu- 
hammadan  Dynasties  "  translated  by  Gayangos,  and  Masdeu's  and 
La  Fuente's  Histories  of  Spain.  The  omission  was  intentional, 
and  for  the  reason  that  Conde's  "  history  "  is  entirely  worthless, 
and  the  others  have  been  seriously  damaged  by  the  criticisms  of 
distinguished  Oriental  and  Spanish  specialists  like  R.  Dozy. 

While  the  author  cannot  hope  to  have  been  entirely  successful 
in  unravelling  the  many  intricacies  and  complications  of  Spanish 
history,  in  setting  forth  clearly  the  history  and  growth  of  Spanish 
institutions,  in  tracing  without  confusion  the  many  separate  and 
independent  growths  within  the  Peninsula,  till  all  the  lines  con- 
verge   on    the   vast  world-empire   of    Ferdinand    and    Isabella, 


VIU 


Prefatory  Note. 


Charles  V.,  and  Philip  II.,  in  contributing  to  the  interest  of  the 
story  by  illuminating  it  here  and  there  with  the  light  of  Spanish 
poetry  and  romance,  or  in  entirely  avoiding  the  dangers  of  rhetoric 
when  tempted  by  the  brilliancy,  romantic  coloring,  and  marvel- 
lousness  of  the  '*  adventure  of  Spain,"  he  has  yet  tried  to  follow 
the  authorities  conscientiously,  has  weighed,  considered,  and  com- 
pared much,  and  presents  the  results  here  with  all  possible  diffi- 
dence, and  the  sincere  wish  that  the  following  outline  may  lead  its 
readers  to  further  study  of  so  fascinating  a  suoject. 

In  conclusion,  the  author  begs  leave  to  tender  his  special  thanks 
for  essential  help  rendered  by  Dr.  E.  A.  Freeman,  Prof.  T.  11. 
Ward,  and  Mr.  H.  B.  George,  of  Oxford.  England,  Mr.  J.  L. 
Whitney,  of  the  Boston  Public  Library,  whose  "  Catalogue  of  the 
Ticknor  Collection  "  of  Spanish  books,  and  assistance  privately 
rendered,  were  most  welcome,  Mr.  F.  W.  Putnam,  and  Profs. 
Elliott  and  Adams,  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore. 

Lexington,  Va.,  June  17,  1881. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Page 


Physical  Features.  —  Statistics.  —  Ancient  Spain     .   xvii 


CHAPTER   I. 

Spain  under  the  Visigoths  (West  Goths)    ...      17 


CHAPTER   II. 
Spain  under  the  Visigoths  (continued)    . 


37 


i  . 


CHAPTER   III. 

The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khalifate 


54 


CHAPTER    IV. 

The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khalifate  (continued)      7 . 


CHAPTER  V. 
Spain  under  the  Omaiyades    . 


.      98 


IX 


i. 

h 


'\ 


X  Contents, 

CHAPTER  VI. 

^  Paqk 

Spain  under  the  Omaiyades  (continued)  .        .        .117 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest  .       .    139 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest  (con- 
tinued)   163 

CHAPTER   IX. 

From  the  Almoravide  Conquest  to  Ferdinand  and 

Isabella       .        . 185 

CHAPTER   X. 

From  the  Almoravide  Conquest  to  Ferdinand  and 

Isabella  (continued) 209 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella        ....    239 

CHAPTER   XII. 

Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  (continued)     .       .    255 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
Subjugation  of  the  Moors.  —  Conquest  of  Granada    271 


Contents,  xi 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Page 

Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  (continued)    .        .312 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  (continued)^  .        .    329 

* 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Spanish  Navigators 356 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Regency   of   Ximenes. — Reign    of    Charles  V.  and 

JuANA ...    408 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
Reign  of  Charles  V.  and  Juana  (continued)         .        .    429 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Spain  under  Philip  II 455 

CHAPTER  XX. 
The  Struggle  in  the  Netherlands       ....    473 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Philip's  Character  and  Policy 494 

CHAPTER  XXn. 
End  of  the  Reign  of  Philip  II.      .       ,       ,        .       •    515 


pi 


Xll 


Contents. 


CHAPTER  XXI II 


Pagk 


.   PHTI.IP   II.   TO    THE   ACCESSION     OF 
DEATH   OF   PHILIP   il- 


FROM  THE   ...^^"    -  ji^^    PHILIP 

THE    BOURBONS.  — REIGNS    O* 


IV 


,  AND  CHARLES  H- 


.        536 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


^  np  THE  BOURBONS  TO  THE  FRENCH 
K.OM  THE  ACCKSS-O.  OK  THE  B  ^  ^  ^^^^^^^^^ 

Revolution.  —  KEiGNb 


VI.,  AND  Charles  III. 


.     569 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


T^TTTCNs   OF  Charles  IV. 
THE   French   Revolution.- Reigns   o  ^        ^ 

AND  Ferdinand  VII.         •        •        •        * 
CHAPTER  XXVI. 
reign  of  Ferdinand  VII. 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 

THE      RECENCY. -ISABELLA    II.  -AMADKO. 

PUBLIC  -  Alfonso  XII.    •        • 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 


604 


.    630 


—  The    Re- 


,    654 


680 


Isabel! 


.A  II. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  Pander  Ml  in  the  Sierra  Nevada     . 

Ancient  Aqueduct  at  Merida 

Ruins  of  the  Roman  Theatre  of  Murviedro    . 

Ruins  of  Italica,  near  Seville 

Destruction  of  Sagunto 

Map  —  Kingdom  of  the  West  Goths    . 

Interior  of  Toledo  Cathedral 

King  Wamba    ..... 

A  Bull  Clearing  the  Barrier 

Charro  of  Salamanca  .... 

A  Serenata  at  Cordova 

Ruins  of  Ancient  Theatre  of  Merida 

The  Giralda,  Seville       .  ,  .  . 

Court  of  Lions,  Alhambra 

Exterior  of  the  Mosque  of  Cordova     . 

Interior  of  the  Mosque  of  Cordova 

Chapel  of  the  Zancarron,  Mosque  of  Cordova 

General  View  of  the  Alhambra 

Gate  of  the  Torre  de  las  Infantas 

Coffin  of  the  Cid      .... 

Young  Valencians  .... 

The  Balcony  of  Lindaraja    . 

Despoilers  of  the  Azulejos  of  the  Alhambra  . 

The  Vase  of  the  Alhambra  . 

Map  of  Spain  and  Portugal 

Don  Pedro  el  Cerem.onious   . 

Grajal,  near  Leon  .... 

Binding  up  the  Palm- Leaves 


Page 

Frontispiece 

XXV 

xxix 

xxviii 

.    xxxvii 

.      19 

25 

47 

•    55 
71 
.      87 
107 

115 

125 

•  135 

143 

•  153 
161 

.     169 

J75 

•  183 
191 

•  203 
211 

.    219 

224 

.    227 

233 


nil 


r  ..;:^ 


XIV 


List  of  Illusf rations. 


Don  Alvaro  de  Luna 

Bridge  of  St.  Martin,  Toledo 

An  Arabian  Well,  Toledo 

Forest  of  Palms  at  Elche     . 

La  Sala  de  Embaj adores,  Alcazar,  Seville 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella 

Moorish  Arches  of  the  Alcazar,  Seville 

Interior  of  Seville  Cathedral 

The  Cathedral  and  Port  of  Malaga 

Segovia  :  The  Alcazar  and  Cathedral 

Prison  of  the  Inquisition  at  Barcelona 

Map  —  Kingdom  of  Granada 

An  Andalusian  Bolera  and  her  Mother 

Cardinal  Zimenes 

The  Generalife  at  Granada 

Isabella  dictating  her  Will 

Gate  of  the  Sala  de  Justicia,  Alhanibra 

Chart  of  Sovereigns  of  Castile 

Chart  of  Sovereigns  of  Aragon 

The  Siejrra  de  Oca,  near  Miranda  de  Ebro 

Banks  of  the  Darro,  at  Granada 

Peasant  of  the  Environs  of  Granada    . 

Balconies  at  Granada 

Students  Serenading 

Tomb  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  in  Cathedral  of 

Landing  of  Columbus  in  the  New  World 

Ruins  of  the  Castle  of  Chinchilla 

Gate  of  the  Sun,  Toledo 

Salamanca ;  Town  and  Roman  Bridge  . 

Miranda  de  Ebro       .  •  • 

Interior  of  San  Juan  de  los  Reyes,  Toledo 

Peasant  of  Alcoy 

Charles  V.  .... 

Chart— The  Habsburgs  and  Bourbons 

Alcazar  of  Toledo 

Cattle-Merchant  of  Cordova 

General  View  of  Madrid 

Portuguese  Corrida  at  Seville  :   the  Pegadores 


Granada 


Page 

23s 
241 

249 

263 

273 
276 

279 

291 

299 

307 
315 
325 
331 
333 

342 

347 

35» 

353 

359 

365 

Z7Z 

379 

389 

395 
401 

409 

419 

427 

433 
439 
447 
451 

455 
463 
471 
477 
483 


List  of  Illustrations. 

An  Aged  Mendicant  and  his  Grandchild     . 

Interior  of  the  Armeria,  Madrid 

Cervantes       .  •  •  • 

Battle  of  Lepanto  .... 

General  View  of  the  Escurial 

The  Noria, or W^ater- Wheel  used  in  Irrigating 

Valencian  Laborer      .  .  •  • 

Alicante   .  •  •  •  • 

Peasants  in  the  Neighborhood  of  Madrid  . 

The  Rock  of  Gibraltar     . 

Lope  de  Vega  .  .  .  - 

Jar-Merchant,  Madrid 

Philip  III 

Wandering  Musicians     .        •    . 

Olivares  .  .  ■  •  • 

Roman  Bridge  at  Ronda 

Charles  II.  in  the  Pantheon  of  the  Escorial 

A  r.Jay  at  Jaen 

Philip  V.        .  •  •  •  • 

Charles  III.         .  •  •  • 

Interior  of  a  Country  Inn     . 

The  Queen's  Avenue,  Aranjutz 

Maria  Louisa. 

The  Leaning  Tower  of  Saragossa 

In  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  del  Pilar,  Saragossa 

Market  at  Vittoria 

Balconies  of  Vittoria 

Godoy      •  •  •  •  * 

Map  of  Navarre        .  •  •  • 

Basque  Shepherd,  Province  of  Alava  . 
Fountain  of  the  Swan,  Madrid  . 
Basque  Peasant        .  .  •  • 

Ferdinand  VII.    .  •  •  • 

Maria  Christina  .  •  •  • 

Two  Ladies;  Sketch  made  at  Alicante 
Heroes  of  the  Carlist  War  . 
The  Palacio  Real  of  Madrid 
Isabella  11.  •  •  • 


XV 

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!ii'jBgo^!'A''ai!W»ari'!"^j>Mwi'  > 


iii%.mii,pi«p»wjii{|)liIISJ|pi  I-  .imci 


XVI 


List  of  Illustrations. 


Cadiz         .  .  - 

Narvaez  .... 

Library  of  the  Escurial 

The  Navaja .  .  •  . 

Heads  of  Montpensier,  Serrano,  Topete 

Heads  of  Ruiz  Zorrilla,  Prim,  Sagasta 

Heads  of  Pi  y  Margall,  Castelar 


Page 

677 

681 
.     683 

687 
.     696 

698 
.     700 


INTRODUCTION. 


PHYSICAL 


1^ 


FEATURES.  —  STATISTICS. 
SPAIN. 


ANCIENT 


I'^HE  physical  configuration  of  Spain  has  been 
compared  with  some  truth  to  a  truncated  pryamid, 
the  top  of  which  is  reached  by  successive  terraces 
rising  one  above  the  other.  The  desolate  plateaus  of 
La  Mancha  and  the  Castiles  crown  the  summit  of  the 
pyramid,  which  is  furrowed  by  many  chains  of  sierras 
towering  from  six  thousand  to  twelve  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea.  The  noble  forests  that  once  clothed  the 
mountains  and  plains  have  yielded  to  Spanish  ignorance 
or  superstition:  "They  infect  the  air  when  they  are 
numerous,  and  attract  birds  that  destroy  the  harvests 
when  they  are  scattered  in  the  fields,"  says  the  peasant. 
Hence  the  aspect  of  almost  universal  poverty  in  these 
hio-h  central  plains  where  the  air  is  as  keen  as  a  sword 
in  winter,  and  the  summer  has  a  true  Syrian  heat.  Two 
Spanish  proverbs  sum  up  all  that  is  to  be  said  about 
the  climate  of  this  region  ;  "  At  Madrid  three  months 
hibernal  and  nine  months  infernal  ";  and  "  the  air  is  so 
thin  that  it  will  kill  a  man  and  not  put  out  a  candle." 
The  eastern  coast  from   the  Pyrenees  to  Alicante  — 

*  K.  St.  Ililaire's  Hist.  d'Espagne,  vol.   I.  Dunham's  Hist,   of 
Spain.,  vol.  I. 

xvii 


XVlll 


Introduction, 


the  Mediterranean  base  of  the  pyramid — is  a  paradise, 
and  conducts  the  observer  through  a  landscape  of  ex- 
quisite fruitfulness,  from  the  oUves  of  France,  through 
the  orange-embowered  hamlets  of  Catalonia,  to  the 
Huerta  or  garden  of  Valencia,  where  African  vegeta- 
tion is  in  the  ascendant.  At  Elche,  palms  in  tens  of 
thousands  group  themselves  with  Oriental  suggestive- 
ness  around  low  Moorish  houses. 

Catalonia  recalls  the  Cornice  road  to  Genoa  ;  Valencia 
is  a  Sicilian  landscape ;  Andalusia,  with  its  slender 
palms,  its  cactuses  used  for  hedges,  its  bananas,  cotton, 
and  sugar-cane,  and  its  tropical  atmosphere  so  wonder- 
fully pure  and  brilliant,  is  entirely  African. 

In  moral  no  less  than  in  physical  aspects  Spain  is  a 
compound  of  contrasts.  The  character  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  various  provinces  differs  as  sharply  as  the 
vegetation.  The  Catalonian  is  renowned  for  thrift,  in- 
dustry, money  getting ;  the  Galician  is  the  porter  and 
water-carrier  of  Spain ;  the  keen-witted  mountain- 
loving  Biscayan  stands,  side  by  side  with  the  proud 
and  tranquil  Aragonese  ;  the  bright-tempered  Andalu- 
sian  sparkling  with  infinite  pleasantry  and  wit  beside 
the  grave  and  careless  Catalonian,  and  the  Berber- 
featured  Valencian  in  his  cotton  drawers. 

A  glance  at  the  map  of  Spain  will  explain  these  differ- 
ences. Mountains  separate  nearly  every  province  from 
its  neighbor,  and  mountains  separate  the  peninsula  from 
the  rest  of  Europe.  The  story  of  Greece  is  repeated 
both  geographically  and  historically  in  Spain.  The 
Pyrenees  and  the  sea  separate  it  from  Europe  and 
Africa :  six  distinct  mountain  chains  divide  up  the  in- 
terior.    As  against  the  outside  world  it  is  a  unit  ;  as 


Introduction. 


XIX 


against  itself,  it  is  a  loose  aggregation  of  jarring  and 
inharmonious  elements  which  for  ages  has  had  no  Con- 
sciousness of  nationality. 

The  mountain  chains  are  the  Pyrenean  chain,  about 
ten  thousand  feet  high,  in  the  north ;  the  Iberian 
chain,  twining  through  the  heart  of  the  country  east- 
ward and  southward  to  the  Sierra  Morena,  filled  with 
enormous  masses  of  fossil  bones  and  forming  the 
starting  point  of  the  Tagus,  on  one  side,  and  the 
Gabriel,  Guadalaviar,  and  Xucar,  on  the  other;  the 
Carpetanian  group,  running  north-east  and  south-west, 
with  the  royal  chateaux  of  the  Escurial  and  La  Gran j a 
clinging  to  its  granite  declivities,  and  ending  in  Portugal ; 
the  Lusitanian  chain  {Mons  Herminius  of  the  Romans) 
traversing  Portugal,  and  separating  the  Tagus  from  the 
Guadiana;  the  Sierra  Morena,  "a  plateau  on  one  side 
and  a  mountain  on  the  other,"  clothed  in  rosemary, 
thyme,  cystus,  lentisc,  and  arbutus  on  one  side,  and  with 
date-palms,  aloes,  and  vines  on  the  other ;  and  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  the  snowy  chain  of  Andalusia,  the  loftiest  of 
the  peninsula,  —  probably  a  continuation  of  the  Atlas 
chain, —  springing  out  of  smiling  vegas,  and  rising  in  a 
series  of  dazzling  summits  to  a  height  from  ten  thou- 
sand to  twelve  thousand  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  four  sides  of  the  pyramid,  by  a  sort  of  orienta- 
tion, thus  front  the  four  points  of  the  compass.  On  the 
north  is  the  humid,  chilly,  verdurous  region  of  Canta- 
bria,  where  the  vine  will  hardly  grow,  and  wine  is 
replaced  by  cider — *'the  Normandy  of  the  Peninsula." 
The  Portuguese  slope  is  far  from  having  so  distinct  a 
physiognomy,  and  is  clothed  in  fine  chestnut,  sweet- 
acorned   oak,   olive,    and  vine.     The  Andalusian  and 


XX 


Introduction, 


Introduction. 


XXI 


li 


southern  reflect,  in  vegetation  and  physical  peculiarities, 
the  opposite  coast.  The  eastern  or  Iberian,  slope,  from 
Cape  Gata  to  Cape  Cruz,  is  the  garden  and  glory  of 
Spain. 

Five  great  rivers, —the  Ebro,  the  Duero,  the  Tagus, 
the  Guadiana,  and  the  Guadalquivir ;  and  five  smaller 
ones, —  Guadalaviar,  Xucar,  Segura,  Minho,  Mondego  ; 
intersect  the  country.  A  large  number  of  salt  lakes  is 
found,  especially  in  Catalonia  and  Aragon.  Over  two 
thousand  mineral  springs  are  to  be  seen  in  various  parts 
of  the  countr}'.  Traces  of  volcanoes,  thermal  waters, 
and  lava-currents  attest  a  lively  volcanic  activity,  in 
former  times,  which  culminated  in  1755  in  the  great 
earthquake  of  Lisbon.  Buckle  *  attributes  the  gradually 
developing  superstition  of  the  Spaniards  largely  to  the  re- 
flex action  of  these  and  similar  physical  phenomena. 

Marble  of  many  colors  and  great  beauty,  rock  salt 
and  sea  salt,  mercury  from  the  celebrated  mine  of 
Almaden  in  La  Mancha,  iron  from  Biscay,  silver 
from  Andalusia,  copper,  loadstone,  gold,  pearls  and 
rubies,  from  various  provinces,  coal,  and  oil-wells, 
make  of  Spain  what  it  was  in  antiquity,  an  inexhaustible 
storehouse  of  wealth,  now,  indeed,  but  poorly  utilized. 

The  peculiar  wealth  of  the  country,  lies  in  its  flocks 
and  herds.  Millions  of  acres  of  land  are  abandoned 
to  the  shepherds  and  their  migratory  hordes,  which  for- 
merly ravaged  the  country  more  pitilessly  than  the 
Vandals  and  in  their  wanderings  from  province  to 
province  were  more  dreaded  than  the  robbers  themselves. 
A  single  great  company  in  the  i6th  century  employed 
from  forty  thousand  to  sixty  thousand  shepherds  and 
owned  seven  millions  of  sheep.  The  wandering  flocks  are 

*  IJist.  Cw.  Essay  on  Spain. 


distributed  in  bands  of  ten  thousand,  under  fifty  shep- 
herds, with  fifty  dogs,  and  rove  from  place  to  place, 
though  subject  to  certain  laws  and  restrictions.  It  is 
said  that  when  they  come  to  a  cultivated  field  they  have 
the  right  to  break  a  way  through  it,  narrowing  their 
passage  as  much  as  possible,  but  of  course  ruthlessly 
trampling  under  foot  all  that  they  do  not  devour. 

The  Andalusian  horses  are  famous  for  their  gait, 
swiftness,  and  fire ;  the  Spanish  bulls  are  equally  cele- 
brated for  blood  and  spirit.  The  bull-light  is  of  unknown 
antiquity,  and,  as  a  national  sport,  perhaps,  is  more 
fiercely  applauded  and  passionately  loved  now  than  ever. 
One  of  the  scourges  of  the  country  is  found  in  the 
countless  locusts,  wafted  by  the  wind  in  such  multi- 
tudes that  the  air  is  darkened.  Their  touch  is  fatal  to 
nearly  every  vegetable  thing  with  which  they  come  in 

contact. 

The  population  of  the  country  has  been  almost 
stationary  for  a  long  time.  The  Moorish  wars,  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Jews  in  the  fifteenth  century  and  of  the 
Moriscoes  in  the  seventeenth,  the  emigration  to  the 
New  World,  and  the  grinding  imposts,  misery,  and  idle- 
ness of  every  kind,  have  all  but  paralyzed  the  resources 

of  the  nation. 

At  the  last  general  census  of  i860*  the  population  of 
Spain,  embracing  the  Balearic  and  Canary  islands,  was 
sixteen  million  three  hundred  and  one  thousand,  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-one.  The  area  covered  is  one  hundred 
and  eightv-two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
English  square  miles.  In  1874  only  four  of  the  Span- 
ish cities  contained  over  one  hundred  thousand  inhab- 

itants  ' 

*  Martin's  Yearbook  for  iSyg^  Art.  Spain. 


XXll 


Introduction. 


Introduction. 


xxm 


Madrid,  367,284, 
Valencia,  153,457- 


Barcelona,   215,965, 
Seville,  118,878. 


Malaga,  Murcia,  Saragossa,  Granada,  Cadiz,  and 
Valladolid,  all  fall  beneath  this  estimate.  Forty-six 
per  cent,  of  the  kingdom  is  uncultivated.  The  total 
imports  in  1868-1877  averaged  eighty  million  dollars; 
exports,  sixty  million  dollars.     The  merchant  navy  in 

1877  numbered  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifteen 
vessels — a  falling  off  of  three  thousand  six  hundred 
vessels  since  i860.  The  length  of  railways  in  1877 
was  three  thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-three  Eng- 
lish miles,  with  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  English  miles  in  construction.  These  railways  are 
owned  by  private  companies,  with,  mostly,  subventions 
or  guarantees  from  government.  The  length  of  tele- 
graph lines  in  January,  1877,  was  eight  thousand  five 
hundred  and  eighty-three  English  miles,  and  of  wires, 
twenty  thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty  English  miles. 
The  National  debt  in  June,  1877,  was  twenty-seven  hun- 
dred millions  of  dollars.  Actual  strength  of  the  army  in 

1878  was  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  thousand  six  hundred 
and  sixty-eight,  including  infantry,  artillery,  engineers, 
cavalry,  provincial  bodies,  carbineers,  and  guardia  civil. 
The  navy  had  nine  thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy 
sailors  and  five  thousand  five  hundred  marines,  with 
one  captain-general  of  the  fleet,  twenty  admirals,  and 
three  hundred  and  seventy-eight  commissioned  officers 
of  various  grades.  It  is  recruited,  by  conscription  in 
the  naval  districts  along  the  coast.  The  army  is  of- 
ficered by  sixty  lieutenants-general,  one  hundred  and 
thirty-one  major-generals,  and  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
eight  brigadier-generals  ;  and  it  is  composed  (i)  of  a 


permanent  army ;  (2)  a  first,  or  active  reserve  ;  (3)  a 
second,  or  sedentary  reserve,  the  scheme  for  which 
was  not  fully  developed  in  1878. 

Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  the  Philippine,  and  a  few  Atlantic 
and  Indian  islands,  comprise  the  colonial  possessions 
of  Spain.  The  American  possessions  (Cuba,  Porto 
Rico)  embrace  an  area  of  forty  six  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  seventy  square  miles;  population  two 
million  sixty  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy; 
Asiatic  possessions  (Philippines,  Caroline,  and  Marian 
Islands,  and  Palaos)  sixty-six  thousand  four  hundred 
and  twenty-five  square  miles ;  population  four  million 
three  hundred  and  fifty-two  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  seventy-nine ;  African  possessions  (Fernado  do  Po 
and  Annabon)  four  hundred  and  eighty-three  square 
miles,  population  five  thousand  five  hundred  and 
ninety.  Total  square  miles,  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-eight ;  total  popula- 
tion, six  million  four  hundred  and  nineteen  thousand 
three  hundred  and  thirty-nine.*  Slavery,  abolished  in 
Porto  Rico  in  1873,  still  exists  in  Cuba.  The  number 
of  slaves  in  Cuba  (1876)  was  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  thousand. 


Celts,  Iberians,  Phenicians,  Carthaginians,  Greeks, 
Romans,  Suevi,  Vandals,  and  Arabs  have  all  left  traces 
of  themselves  in  Spain.  Strabof  tells  us  nearly  all  that 
we  know  of  ancient  Spain  before  and  after  the  Roman 
conquest.  According  to  him  the  Iberians  seem  to 
have  been  the  primitive  inhabitants  of  the  country, 
whose   eastern  part   they   occupied.      The    Celts,    the 

*  Latiser,  Geschichte  Spaniens,  vol.  II.  pp.  257-321. 
t  Hispania,  3,  136-176,  et  al. 


MM  i 


^J-^ 
^'i" 


XXIV 


Introduction. 


*'men  of  the  forests/'  at  an  uncertain  date  invaded  the 
domain  of  these  "  men  of  the  river "  (Iberi,  Ebro). 
Long  struggles  ensued,  which  ended  in  a  final  reconcil- 
iation and  a  mingling  of  the  two  races  in  the  Celtiberian 
nation.  The  Iberian  element  however  seems  to  have 
preponderated,  though  the  Celts,  as  usual,  gave  their 
names  to  many  places.  It  is  believed  with  some  show 
of  truth  that  the  modern  Basques,  and  their  as  yet  un- 
classified language,  are  descendants  of  the  Iberians. 
The  Celtic  tribes  seem  to  have  embraced  the  Cantabri- 
ans,  Asturians,  Vascones,  Galicians,  and  Lusitanians. 
The  Iberians  were  more  numerous,  and  extended  from 
Gibraltar  through  parts  of  Andalusia,  Valencia,  Murcia, 
and  Aragon,  to  the  Pyrenees.  The  blended  race  of 
Celtiberians  dwelt  in  the  centre  of  the  peninsula,  on  the 
border-land  between  the  two  nations. 

As,  however,  the  whole  subject  is  one  swarming  with 
uncertainties,  surmises,  doubtful  passages  in  ancient 
writers,  and  conclusions  drawn  by  Diodorus  and  Strabo 
from  a  state  of  things  prevailing  in  the  peninsula  after 
the  Phenician,  Carthaginian,  and  Roman  conquests  had 
passed  over  the  land,  it  will  be  best  at  once  to  avoid 
confusing  the  reader  by  reference  to  unproved  state- 
ments, and  to  approach  a  period  when  the  light  is  not 
quite  so  faint. 

The  Phenician  navigators  seem  to  have  been  attracted 
by  the  beauty  and  wealth  of  the  coast,  where  they 
formed  settlements  here  and  there.  The  legendary 
Tyrian  Hercules  founded  Cadiz.  The  rich  metallifer- 
ous basin  of  the  Guadalquivir  seems  to  have  had  an 
early  attraction  for  them,  and  a  temple  of  Hercules 
erected  on  the  Isle  of  Santi  Petri,  is  said  to  have  sig- 
nalized  one   of    their   settlements.     The   founding   of 


Introduction. 


xxvn 


Cadiz,  Malaga,  Cordova,  Seville,  and  many  other  im- 
portant towns  was  attributed  to  them,  and  "  Hercules  " 
has  been  well  called  the  collective  name  under  which  a 
grateful  after-generation  incarnated  the  most  illustrious 
of  these  far-away  Phenician  navigators  who  braved  un- 
known seas  in  their  great  exploring  expeditions  and 
left  cities  behind  them  as  monuments  of  their  presence. 

The  Rhodian  Greeks  founded  a  colony  in  Catalonia 
about  900  B.  C,  and  are  thought  to  have  settled  the 
Balearic  Isles  ;  the  Zantiotes  and  Phocaeans  have  con- 
nected their  names  traditionally  with  Saguntum  and 
Emporion  as  the  Phocaeans  did  with  Marseilles  ;  and 
Greek  names  are  found  in  the  southwest  and  north  of 
Spain.  The  worship  of  Diana  more  especially  was  a 
legendary  accompaniment  of  these  migrations  and  set- 
tlements. 

The  real  history  of  Carthaginian  Spain,  apart  from 
the  restlessness  of  a  purely  speculative  school  of  his- 
tory eager  to  theorize  where  there  are  no  facts,  begins 
three  centuries  before  Christ,  with  the  arrival  of  the 
Barca  faction  in  Baetica  (Andalusia).  Three  hundred 
years  before,  the  wealth  of  Cadiz  having  excited  the 
envy  of  the  aborigines,  its  Phenician  citizens,  to  pro- 
tect themselves,  called  in  the  aid  of  Carthage  and  the 
Numidians,  who  soon  overran  much  of  the  country  and 
made  it  a  dependency  of  the  great  south  Mediter- 
ranean city. 

In  237  B.  c.  Hamilcar  Barca  landed  at  Cadiz  with  a 
large  army,  after  having  conquered  the  whole  African 
coast  as  far  as  the  ocean.  In  nine  years  he  had  over- 
come the  west  and  south  of  Spain,  but  the  confeder- 
ated chiefs  of  the  Vettones  succeeded  in  defeating  him, 


XXVlll 


Introduction, 


m 


«M 


and  he  was  drowned  in   the   passage  of  the  Guadiana. 
Hasdrubal,  his  son-in-law,  with  a  rare  union  of  vigor 
and  humanity,  soon  greatly  extended  the  dominion  of 
the  Carthaginians  with  his  fifty-six' thousand  men  and 
two  hundred  elephants.     He  built  the  city  of  Carthage 
Nova  (Carthagena),  which  became  a-great  commercial, 
maritime,  and  military  outpost,  full  of  fortifications  and 
arsenals.     The  frightened  Greek  colonies  implored  the 
aid   of   the    Roman   senate    against   the    Carthaginian 
power ;  a  treaty  stipulated  the  independence  of  these 
colonies  and  fixed  a  limit  to  the  growing  Carthaginian 
empire  ;  but  Hasdrubal,  feeling  himself  strong  in  the 
affections  of  the  people  and  finding  himself  firmly  in- 
trenched at  Carthagena,  resolved  to  break  the  treaty, 
and  would  have  done  so,  had   not  the  dagger  of  an 
assassin  put  an  end  to  his  life. 

Hannibal,    the   son    of   Hamilcar,  a   young   man  of 
twenty-five,  was  chosen  by  the   army  to  succeed   Has- 
drubal ;  and  now  he   saw  a  chance  to  show  at  last  the 
eternal  hate  which   his   father   had    made    him    swear 
against  the  Romans.     The  admirable  portrait  left  by 
Livy*  is  a  pregnant  individualization  of  one  of  the  great 
men  of  antiquity.     In  the  same  lucid  and  impassioned 
pages  the  memorable  story  of  the  siege  of  Saguntum,t 
the  ally  and  funeral  offering  of  Rome  to  the  vengeance 
of  the  Carthaginiai\s,   still  glows  with  eloquence  after 
the  lapse  of    twenty  centuries.     A  cry  of   grief  rever- 
berated through  antiquity  and  found  an  echo  in  many 
historians  over  this  perfidious  immolation  of  a  devoted 
friend  on  the   part  of  Rome  ;  "  Dum  Romae  consulitur. 
Saguntiim  expugnatur;'  was  the  scathing  proverb  that 


*  I.iv.  lib.  21,  22,  23,  24  et  sqcj. 


t  Ibid,  21  d  sqq. 


Introduction. 


XXXI 


embalmed  the  memory  of  this  humiliating  incident  at 
Rome. 

The  great  struggle  between  Rome  and  Carthage  had 
now  begun.  During  the  second  Punic  war,  in  218, 
Cneius  Scipio  came  over  to  Spain,  and  soon  got  pos- 
session of  the  eastern  coast  from  Carthagena  to  the 
Pyrenees  ;  but  in  211  he  perished,  having  been  pre- 
ceded by  his  brother  Publius,  who  underwent  the 
same  fate,  together  with  his  army.  In  the  brilliant  and 
moving  pages  of  Plutarch,  their  successor,  Publius  Cor- 
nelius Scipio  (210),  is  seen  landing  in  Spain  with 
eleven  thousand  men,  capturing  Carthagena,  with  im- 
mense boot}^  gaining  all  hearts  by  his  politic  magna- 
nimity, conquering  Cadiz,  founding  Italica  near  Seville, 
and  dividing  the  country  into  two  great  provinces, 
Hither  and  Further  Spain.  Cato  was  sent  thither  as 
consul  in  195,  and  that  system  of  minute  and  merciless 
plundering  was  inaugurated  by  which  Spain,  the  first 
and  richest  of  all  the  great  Roman  colonies,  was  trans- 
formed into  the  market-garden  of  Rome. 

The  splendid  revolt  of  Viriates,  the  shepherd-chief- 
tain of  the  Lusitanians,  who  for  more  than  eight  years 
(140-148)  defied  the  whole  power  of  Rome,  showed, 
even  more  than  the  innumerable  rebellions  and  out- 
breaks from  decade  to  decade,  how  difficult  it  was  to 
break  the  free  and  spirited  population  to  a  foreign 
yoke.  Numantia,  equally  a  Celtiberian  city,  resisted 
with  the  energy  of  despair  the  encroachments  of  Rome, 
and  only  fell  before  sixty  thousand  men  and  Scipio 
^milianus,  another  of  that  remarkable  family  whose 
names  are  so  gloriously  and  dismally  connected  with 
the  subjugation  of  Spain.     Saguntum,  Numantia,  and 


XXXll 


Introduction. 


Saragossa  —  three  sieges  of  world-wide  celebrity  —  tes- 
tify of  that  impassioned  strength  and  fortitude  which, 
in  religion  as  in  war,  two  thousand  years  ago  as  now, 
have  always  formed  the  foundation  of  the  Spanish 
character. 

The  revolt  of  Sertorius,  a  Roman  exile  dreaming  of 
independent  sovereignty  in  Spain,  occurred  twenty 
years  after  the  siege  of  Numantia  and  was  crushed  by 
Pompey  and  Metellus  after  eight  years  of  furious  and 
difficult  encounter  (71).  His  portrait  hangs  in  that 
beautiful  gallery  which  Plutarch  ^  has  so  richly  hung 
with  discrowned  kings,  disappointed  ambitions,  noble 
and  desperate  enterprises,  and  the  pathos  of  useless 
death  and  failure. 

The  most  remarkable  of  all  the  quarrels  espoused 
by  the  Peninsula  was  that  of  Pompey  and  Caesar. 
Caesar  triumphed,  and  has  left  a  record  of  the  contest 
in  his  inimitable  commentaries.!  Under  Augustus, 
Spain  was  declared  a  perpetual  tributary  of  the  em- 
pire and  for  the  first  time,  after  two  hundred  years  of 
sanguinary  combat,  the  dominion  of  Rome  showed 
itself  beneficent  and  tolerable.  A  regular  administra- 
tion was  introduced  ;  the  country,  to  facilitate  its  con- 
trol and  organization,  was  divided  into  three  provinces 
(Baetica,  Tarraconensis,  and  Lusitania)  ;  wise  and 
humane  laws  were  established,  protecting  the  inhab- 
itants ;  magnificent  roads,  bridges,  and  aqueducts  were 
built ;  and  grateful  altars  smoked  in  honor  of  the  father 
and  liberator  of  Spain. 

Ubi  solitudinem  faciunt^  pacem  appellant^  said  Tacitus, 

*  Plut.  II.  277-300. 

t  Caes.  Bell.  Hispaulense.  De  Bello  Civili. 


Introduction. 


XXXV 


painting  with  a  characteristic  stroke  the  policy  of  most 
of  the  Roman  conquerors.  Tiberius,  to  whom  altars 
burned  and  whom  medals  immortalized,  exemplified  in 
Spain  the  epigram  of  the  great  historian.  Caligula, 
Nero,  Galba,  and  Otho,  caressed  or  spurned  the  penin- 
sula according  to  the  needs  of  the  moment  Under 
Vespasian  the  persecution  of  the  Jews  broke  out,  and  a 
colony  of  the  wretched  exiles  was  planted  in  Spain  and 
settled  at  Merida  :  the  fountain  of  that  swarming  race 
which  afterward  filled  the  history  of  the  country  with 
their  intrigues,  miseries,  and  oppressions. 

Trajan  and  Hadrian  were  both  Spaniards,  born  at 
Italica,  and  were  both  loved  and  honored  by  the  peo- 
ple for  the  well-being  and  tranquillity  enjoyed  by  the 
land  under  their  vigorous  but  appreciative  administra- 
tion. Antoninus  and  Marcus  Aurelius  (sprung  from  a 
noble  Spanish  family  sojourning  at  Rome)  gave  Spain 
the  happiness  that  needed  no  history ;  and  under  them 
it  reached  the  culminating  point,  after  which  there  is  a 
continual  decline.  A  band  of  Suevi  crossed  the  Pyre- 
nees in  270  A.  D.  and  ravaged  the  provinces  for  some 
time.  The  reigns  of  Diocletian  and  Constantine  were 
important  to  Spain,  more  particularly  from  a  religious 
point  of  view.  Crushed  by  imposts,  stripped  of  its 
communal  rights,  devoured  by  the  thousand  fiscal 
agents  of  the  new  Rome  of  the  Bosphorus,  its  social 
system  dissolved,  its  magistrates  became  almost  univer- 
sally corrupt,  and  it  took  refuge,  as  a  last  resource,  in 
the  arms  of  the  clergy. 

Christianity  seems  to  have  penetrated  into  Spain 
about  the  time  of  Nero.  The  Spaniards  attribute  its 
introduction    to    Saint   James   the   greater  (Santiago). 


n 


XXXVl 


Introduction. 


1 


Originally  persecuted  by  the  polytheists,  the  new  relig- 
ion increased  step  by  step  until  it  took  its  seat  on  the 
imperial  throne  in  the  person  of  Constantine.  The 
council  of  Illiberis  in  Spain,  held  about  306,  is  claimed 
to  be  the  earliest  great  western  church  council  on 
record,  and  here  were  fixed,  after  the  fashion  of  an 
austere  orthodoxy,  the  rites,  ceremonies,  and  dogmas 
of  the  Spanish  church,  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century 
before  the  council  of  Nice  (325).  Constantine  had 
divided  Spain  into  seven  provinces  (Lusitania,  Baetica, 
Galicia,  Carthaginiensis,  Tarraconensis,  the  Balearic 
Isles,  and  Tingitania  on  the  African  coast),  and  with 
these  the  ecclesiastical  provinces  corresponded.  The 
bishops  dwelling  in  the  capitals  of  these  provinces  — 
Merida,  Seville,  Bracara,  Carthagena,  Saragossa,  Palma, 
and  Tangier — took  the  name  of  metropolitans.  ^  Of 
these  the  metropolitan  of  Toledo,  —  substituted  for 
Carthagena,  —  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  celebrated 
parliament-councils  were  held  there,  gradually  assumed 
the  pre-eminence,  and  at  length  acquired  the  primacy 
of  Spain.  The  heresies  of  Arianism  and  Priscillian- 
ism  —  the  former  introduced  by  the  Gothic  conquest, 
the  latter  by  an  eloquent  and  voluptuous  Spanish 
priest  —  agitated  the  country  until  Priscillian  was  put 
to  death  (384)  and  the  Goths  embraced  Catholicism 
under  Recared. 

Constantine  initiated  a  uniform  administration  for 
his  whole  vast  empire.  Spain  and  Gaul  formed  one  of 
the  four  dinsions  into  which  the  immense  agglomera- 
tion fell.  The  twenty-five  military  colonies,  formed  of 
citizens  and  soldiers  who  enjoyed  on  foreign  soil  all 
the  rights  of  the  mother  country,   kept   Spain   in   sub- 


n   <-i 


ji 


ijr 


XXXVl 


Introduction, 


Originally  persecuted  by  the  polytheists,  the  new  relig- 
ion increased  step  by  step  until  it  took  its  seat  on  the 
imperial  throne  in  the  person  of  Constantine.  The 
council  of  Illiberis  in  Spain,  held  about  306,  is  claimed 
to  be  the  earliest  great  western  church  council  on 
record,  and  here  were  fixed,  after  the  fashion  of  an 
austere  orthodoxy,  the  rites,  ceremonies,  and  dogmas 
of  the  Spanish  church,  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century 
before  the  council  of  Nice  (325).  Constantine  had 
divided  Spain  into  seven  provinces  (Lusitania,  Baetica, 
Galicia,  Carthaginiensis,  Tarraconensis,  the  Balearic 
Isles,  and  Tingitania  on  the  African  coast),  and  with 
these  the  ecclesiastical  provinces  corresponded.  The 
bishops  dwelling  in  the  capitals  of  these  provinces  — 
Merida,  Seville,  Bracara,  Carthagena,  Saragossa,  Palma, 
and  Tangier — took  the  name  of  metropolitans.  Of 
these  the  metropolitan  of  Toledo,  —  substituted  for 
Carthagena,  —  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  celebrated 
parliament-councils  were  held  there,  gradually  assumed 
the  pre-eminence,  and  at  length  acquired  the  primacy 
of  Spain.  The  heresies  of  Arianism  and  Priscillian- 
ism — the  former  introduced  by  the  Gothic  conquest, 
the  latter  by  an  eloquent  and  voluptuous  Spanish 
priest  —  agitated  the  country  until  Priscillian  was  put 
to  death  (384)  and  the  Goths  embraced  Catholicism 
under  Recared. 

Constantine  initiated  a  uniform  administration  for 
his  whole  vast  empire.  Spain  and  Gaul  formed  one  of 
the  four  divisions  into  which  the  immense  agglomera- 
tion fell.  The  twenty-five  military  colonies,  formed  of 
citizens  and  soldiers  who  enjoyed  on  foreign  soil  all 
the  rights  of  the  mother  country,   kept    Spain   in   sub- 


\^ 


a 


■  n 


k 


Introduction. 


XXXIX 


jection  during  the  imperial  period  ;  forty-nine  municipia, 
with  privilege  of  self-government,  came  next  in  order 
among  the  graduated  cities  \  then  the  cities  of  the 
Latin  law,  peopled  by  families  from  Latium,  who, 
without  the  right  of  Roman  citizenship,  could  acquire 
this  right  after  they  had  held  certain  magistracies ; 
then  the  six  free  cities  {immunes\  having  their  own 
laws  and  magistrates,  and  exempt  from  the  usual  im- 
perial burdens;  and,  last,  the  allied  cities,  and  the 
tributary  cities  (stipendiarice),  which  were  heavily  bur- 
dened with  the  task  of  feeding  Rome  and  furnish- 
ing supplies  for  carrying  on  the  government.  A  throng 
of  petty  communal  republics  however,  soon  arose,  — 
always  a  characteristic  feature  of  Spanish  administra- 
tive life,  —  and,  by  paying  the  regular  imposts,  were  left 
free  to  govern  themselves.  Under  Antoninus  all  the 
subjects  of  the  empire  were  proclaimed  Roman 
citizens. 

Elegant  vestiges  of  antiquity,  chiefly  utilitarian,  still 
show  the  blossoming  of  art  in  Spain  under  the  empire. 
The  ruins  of  the  palace  of  Augustus  at  Tarragona; 
the  arch  of  Bara  raised  by  Trajan  ;  the  splendid 
bridge  of  Alcantara,  believed  by  the  Arabs  to  have 
been  raised  by  the  genies ;  the  less  celebrated  bridges 
of  Evora,  Calatrava,  and  Salamanca ;  the  aqueducts  of 
Seville,  Tarragona,  and  Evora,  and  the  stupendous 
aqueduct-bridge  one  hundred  feet  high  at  Segovia ;  the 
wonderfully  preserved  theatre  of  Saguntum  ;  the 
famous  mosaic  of  Italica  ;  and  the  baths,  porticoes,  and 
ruins  of  many  sorts,  attest  the  grandeur  of  the  Roman 
civilization.  The  country  was  furrowed  by  unequalled 
roads,  some  of  which  still  exist.     Spain,  even  to-day,  is 


xl 


Lit  ro  duct  1071. 


full  of  reminiscences  of  the  grandiose  scenic  displays 
of  ancient  times,  combats  of  gladiators,  chariot-races, 
gymnasiums,  amphitheatres,  bull-fights ;  and  we  are  told 
of  Diodes,  the  Lusitanian  charioteer,  who  was  victori- 
ous two  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-six  times  in 
the  races. 

A  noble  literary  efflorescence  revived  in  Spain  the 
waninir  lustre  of  Roman  intellectual  life.  Cicero's 
fastidious  ear  misfht  revolt  at  the  thick  accent  of  the 
Cordovan  Latin,  but  posterity  can  but  do  honor  to  the 
illustrious  works  of  Seneca,  Lucan,  Martial,  Quintilian, 
Pomponius  Mela,  Silius  Italicus,  Florus,  and  Columella. 
Many  of  these  may,  as  a  critic  suggests,  contain  the 
germs  of  that  afTectation  which  is  so  perfectly  revealed 
in  the  modern  term  concetti — a  quaint,  prankish,  epi- 
grammatic, whimsically  brilliant  elaboration  of  thought 
and  imager}'  into  dainty  pictures,  like  a  carving  on  an 
antique  gem,  unknown  to  the  simple  and  frank  elegance 
of  the  writers  of  the  Golden  Age ;  but  in  this  there  is 
nothing  to  notice  except  the  inevitable  transition  from 
ancient  to  modern  life,  nothing  to  regret  saye  that  our 
libraries  are  too  scantily  supplied  with  the  musical 
cadences,  the  lascivce  pagince^  of  the  Foetce  mifiores. 


SPAIN. 


CHAPTER  r. 
SPAIN    UNDER   THE   VISIGOTHS    (West  Goths). 

THE  history  of  the  Visigoths,  before  their  separa- 
tion from  the  Ostrogoths,  is  involved  in  obscurity. 
Divided  into  a  multitude  of  groups,  each  ruled  by  its  own 
petty  chief  we  find  them  about  a.  d.  350,  acknowledg- 
ing the  overlordship  of  the  East-Gothic  king  Ermanaric, 
of^'the  house  of  the  Amali,  though  a  hundred  years  be- 
fore they  had  become  virtually  independent  of  the 
Ostrogothic  king. 

Athanaric   (a.  d.  366-381)  is  the  first  well    authen- 
ticated ruler  of  most  of  these  multitudinous   groups ; 
and  as  he  succeeded  his  father  Rothestes   in  the  same 
position,  we  get  a  glimpse  of  a  state  of  things  closely 
approximating  an  hereditary  rulership.     We  find  hnn 
fighting   vigorously   against    Frithigern,    another  great 
chieftain  ;  and  a  few  years  later  the  attack  of  the  Huns 
takes   place  — a   horde    of    Mongol  barbarians,   who. 
sweeping  down  from  their  Asiatic  habitations,  gave  the 
finishing  blow  to  the  tottering  Roman  Empire,  by  forc- 
ing over  its  frontiers  that  source  of  all  its  miseries  — 
the  scarcely  more  civilized  Germans.     For  three  hun- 
dred years   these   fierce,   blond-haired,  ruddy-cheeked 

17 


18 


-  Spain  under  the    Visigoths. 


: 


savages  had  lingered  on  the  outskirts  of  the  empire, 
along  the  lower  Danube,  menacing  it  with  destruction ; 
and  now  fleeing  in  terror  before  the  Huns,  they  crossed 
the  Danube  and  sought  the  protection  of  the  huge  or- 
ganization over  which  the   Emperor  Valens  ruled. 

It  is  a  picturesque  glimpse  that  we  first  get  of  the 
Huns,  swimming  their  horses  by  moonlight  over  the 
Dniester,  outwitting  Athanaric,  and  sending  a  tremor 
through  the  whole  reverberating  empire.  The  Visigoths 
saw  their  only  salvation  from  Rome  :  accordingly,  in  376 
more  than  two  hundred  thousand  fighters  crossed  the 
Danube,  and  being  assigned  to  Thrace,  as  a  habitation, 
were  constituted  by  Valens  a  bulwark  against  the  for- 
midable Huns. 

The  Romans,  who  hated  and  dreaded  the  countless 
starvelings  who  had  now  taken  up  their  abode  within 
the  empire,  exercised  their  rapacious  tendencies  by 
wringing  from  them  all  they  possessed,  even  their  wives, 
children,  and  slaves.  Their  situation  soon  became  in- 
tolerable, and  bloody  outbursts  followed,  in  which 
Frithigern,  taking  the  lead,  and  assisted  by  Goths,  Huns, 
Alans  —  fugitives,  mountaineers,  revolutionists  of  ever}- 
color — succeeded  in  annihilating  Valens  and  the 
Roman  army,  at  the  great  battle  of  Adrianople  in  378  — 
"  a  second  Cannae,"  looked  upon  as  a  punishment  for 
the  Arianism  of  the  emperor. 

Athanaric  mysteriously  withdrew,  as  it  appears,  and 
left  behind  the  commanding  figure  of  Frithigern  to  ar- 
range with  Theodosius  the  Great  a  basis  upon  which 
these  antagonistic  nationalities  could  live  together. 
His  death  in  379-80  left  the  Visigoths  again  under  the 
control  of  Athanaric,  who  concluded  with  Theodosius 


L 


Alaric  the  Balth, 


21 


peace  and  alliance  —  the  Goths  were  now  called 
foedcrati  —  was  treated  by  the  emperor  with  extraordi- 
nary honors,  and  at  his  death,  we  are  naively  in- 
formed, was  distinguished  by  a  royal  funeral  and  a 
mortuary  column. 

The  former  hostile  attitude  of  Athanaric  and  his 
Visigoths  had  suddenly  given  way  before  a  conscious- 
ness of  the  superior  culture  and  civilization  of  the 
Romans;  instead  of  combating,  they  now  sought 
Roman  supremacy,  and  in  return  for  peace  and  protec- 
tion began  to  acknowledge  the  obligation  to  bear  arms 
in  defence  of  their  protectors.  "  The  emperor  was  God 
upon  earth,"  said  Athanaric,  '''  and  he  who  resisted  him 
would  have  his  blood  on  his  own  head." 

Remaming  for  a  time  leaderless,  a  vast  and  loosely- 
organized  confederation  governed  by  counts,  dukes,  and 
chieftains,  the  Goths  suddenly  crystalized  around  the 
heroic  person  of  Alaric  the  Balth,  who  summed  up  in 
himself  all  that  the  Goths  held  dearest, —  unbounded 
freedom,  courage,  — that  is  the  meaning  of  Balth,  — and 
splendid  military  gifts.  Born  about  370-75,  of  noble 
Visigothic  blood,  his  name  soon  became  enclustered 
by  legends  and  enveloped  in  a  maze  of  fiction. 

The  death  of  Theodosius,  "  the  friend  of  the  Gothic 
nation,"  left  his  successor  in  a  peculiarly  difficult  posi- 
tion. The  "  Scythians  "  —  the  **  sheepskin-wearing  sav- 
ages," as  the  Goths  were  called,  —  regarded  with  hate, 
fear,  and  contempt  by  their  allies,  treated  with  violence 
and  injustice  at  every  point,  egged  to  desperation  by 
political  and  race  antipathies  —  lay  like  a  huge  thun- 
der-cloud along  the  Thracian  settlements,  waiting  the 
moment  and  the  man  under  whose  influence  they  should 


22 


Spain  under  the   Visigoths. 


Alaric  sacks  Rome, 


23 


I 


redress  their  long-smouldering  wrongs  and  recover  their 
independence.  Both  were  found  in  Alaric  soon  after 
the  death  of  Theodosius. 

"  Peace  with  walls,"  cried  he,  as,  avoiding  fortified 
places,   his   clouds   of    rugged    Teutons   swept    down 
through  the  flat  lands  of   the    neighboring   provinces, 
overran  Macedonia,  Thessaly,  Arcadia,  Illyria,  to  the 
heart   of    Greece  and  Peloponnesus.      Escaping  from 
Stilicho,   the   general    of    Honorius,    Emperor   of    the 
West,  probably  by  the  treachery  of  his  opponent,  Alaric 
hurried  to  Byzantium,  armed  his  people  out  of  the  im- 
perial magazines,  watched,  manipulated,  menaced  both 
empires,  and  at  length,  allured  by  the  opulence  of  the 
Western    Empire,  broke  into   Italy   in    the   year    400. 
There  is  a  striking  legend  that  the  king  was  driven  in- 
cessantly  and    against    his  will,   by   demoniac   force, 
against   Rome.       "  Rumpe     omnes,    Alarice,    moras^'^ 
whispered  the  tempter  in  the  verses  of  Claudian  ;  and 
we  are  told  that  Rome  trembled  and  strengthened  her 
ancient  walls.     Receiving  a  check  from  Stilicho  at  Pol- 
lentia,  in  402,  he  escaped  again   into  Illyria.     Roman 
exultation  over  the  corpses  that  covered  the  field  of 
PoUentia  was  of  short  duration,  for  Alaric  in  408,  again 
penetrated  into   Italy,  advanced  to  the  very  gates  of 
Rome,  and  at  first  demanding  all  the  gold  and  silver  in 
the  town,  together  with  the  liberation  of  all  slaves  of 
"  barbarian  "  blood,  went  off  to  Tuscany  content,  with 
five  thousand  pounds  of  gold,  thirty  thousand  pounds 
of  silver,  four  thousand  silken  and  three  thousand  purple 
garments,  and  three  thousand  pounds  of  spices.      The 
wretched  Honorius,  the  "  Christipotens  Juvenis  "  of  Pru- 
dentius,  lay  walled  up  in  Ravenna,  helpless  and  humili- 
ated. 


Restlessly  seeking  a  settlement  south  of   the   Alps, 
somewhere  in  the  beautiful  plains  of  Italy,  and  as  con- 
tinually  thwarted    by    Honorius,    the   warlike     Balth, 
scorning  the  insults  of  the  Romans,  —  "  learn  the  fear  of 
Rome,  idiotic  world  of  barbarians  ! "  —  again  marched 
to  Rome  and  forced  the  senate,  by  threats  of  storming  or 
starvation,  to  depose  Honorius  and  elevate  Attalus  to 
the  imperial  throne.     It  is  probable  that  Alaric  did  not 
have  himself  proclaimed  emperor  because  of  the  gulf 
existing  between  the  two  nationalities,  their  fundamen- 
tal differences  of  conception  and  polity,  and  from  the 
fact  that  as  king  of  the  Germans  he  had  the  power  to 
command  a  free  people,  which,  as  emperor  of  the  Ro- 
mans, he  would  have  lost.      A  genuine  German  king 
needed  no  confirmation  of  his  right  to  rule  his  people ; 
he   was  no    "barbarian   adventurer,    clad    in    Roman 
purple,"  ascending  from  dignity  to  dignity  till  he  had 
attained  the  highest.     Alaric,  therefore,  was  guilty  of 
no  act  of   renunciation  in  avoiding  the  throne.     He  fol- 
lowed an  ancient  German  custom,  in  preferring  lawful 
rule  over  his  own  people  to  dangerous  usurpation  of  the 

rights  of  others. 

Finding  Ravenna  not  to  be  taken,  Alaric  sacked 
Rome,  though  not  so  frightfully  as  the  rhetoricians  of  his 
and  later  days  are  fond  of  representing  to  us.  "  Cum 
Romanis  gessi  belliim,  ?ton  emit  apostolis  Dei,''  is  the  le- 
gend that  characterizes  Alaric's  conduct  during  the 
great  event.  Passing  south  into  Campania,  on  his  way 
to  Africa,  —  the  granary  of  Rome  and  Italy,  —  his  ships 
were  scattered  by  a  storm  in  the  strait  of  Messina.- 
According  to  the  legend  of  Olympiodorus,  a  statue  pre- 
vented   the   barbarian    from   crossing    to    Sicily,   "the 

25-6  Illus 


ill 


«l 


24 


Spain  under  the  Visigoths. 


If 


I 


ti 


ancient  bridge  between  Italy  and  Africa  ;  "  and  we  have 
stories  of  flying  Romans  pursued  from  island  to  island 
by  Goths  on  swimming  horses. 

In  the  prime  of  life  Alaric  died,  —  the  only  invader 
since  Hannibal  who  had  penetrated  so  far  south, —  and 
was  buried  after  ancient  Germanic  custom  —  witness 
the  singularly  beautiful  "Passing  of  Scyld "  in  the 
great  Anglo-Saxon  poem  *  —  in  the  waves.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  wife's  brother,  Athaulf  (410-415), 
who,  passing  with  his  followers  from  Italy  to  Gaul,  over- 
ran a  part  of  that  country  in  the  south,  married  Pla- 
cidia,  the  captive  sister  of  Honorius,  held  by  him  as  a 
hostage,  and  attempted  a  reconciliation  with  the  em- 
peror of  the  west.  Famine  forced  him  to  seek  relief 
by  passing  the  Pyrenees  into  Spain,  where  he  occupied 
Barcelona.  The  pathetic  hungering  for  a  home,  which 
accompanies  all  these  ceaseless  migrations  of  the 
early  Germans,  seemed  now  on  the  point  of  being 
gratified.  But  the  death  of  Athaulf  and  the  murder 
of  his  successor,  the  usurper  Sigric,  a  week  after  (41 5), 
for  a  moment  thwarted  this  now  rooted  determination. 

Wallia  (415-419),  who  was  related  to  neither  of  the 
preceding  kings,  was  elected  to  succeed  Sigric,  and 
after  attempting  to  rid  Spain,  in  the  interests  of  the 
emperor,  of  the  barbarian  vermin  with  which  it  swarmed, 
—  Suevi,  Alani,  and  Vandals,  —  passed  over  into  the 
Rofnan  province  of  Aquitania  Secunda  (418),  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Pyrenees,  and  received  by  treaty 
with  Rome  the  magnificent  river  country  of  the  Ga- 
ronne, from  Toulouse  to  the  ocean.  Populous  cities 
abounded  in  this  voluptuous  region,  —  Bordeaux,  Agen, 
Angouleme,  Poitiers,  and  Toulouse,  —  and  at  last  there 

*Heyne,  Beovulf,  i.  2(>-52.  ' 


INTERiOR  OF  TOLEDO  CATHEDRAL. 


24 


Spain  under  the  Visigoths. 


\ 


ancient  bridge  between  Italy  and  Africa  ; "  and  we  have 
stories  of  flying  Romans  pursued  from  island  to  island 
by  Goths  on  swimming  horses. 

In  the  prime  of  life  Alaric  died,  —  the  only  invader 
since  Hannibal  who  had  penetrated  so  far  south,— and 
was  buried  after  ancient  Germanic  custom  —  witness 
the  singularly  beautiful  "Passing  of  Scyld "  in  the 
great  Anglo-Saxon  poem  *  —  in  the  waves.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  wife's  brother,  Athaulf  (410-415), 
who,  passing  with  his  followers  from  Italy  to  Gaul,  over- 
ran a  part  of  that  country  in  the  south,  married  Pla- 
cidia,  the  captive  sister  of  Honorius,  held  by  him  as  a 
hostage,  and  attempted  a  reconciliation  with  the  em- 
peror of  the  west.  Famine  forced  him  to  seek  relief 
by  passing  the  Pyrenees  into  Spain,  where  he  occupied 
Barcelona.  The  pathetic  hungering  for  a  home,  which 
accompanies  all  these  ceaseless  migrations  of  the 
early  Germans,  seemed  now  on  the  point  of  being 
gratified.  But  the  death  of  Athaulf  and  the  murder 
of  his  successor,  the  usurper  Sigric,  a  week  after  (415), 
for  a  moment  thwarted  this  now  rooted  determination. 

Wallia  (415-419),  who  w^as  related  to  neither  of  the 
preceding  kings,  was  elected  to  succeed  Sigric,  and 
after  attempting  to  rid  Spain,  in  the  interests  of  the 
emperor,  of  the  barbarian  vermin  with  which  it  swarmed, 
—  Suevi,  Alani,  and  Vandals,  •— passed  over  into  the 
Rofnan  province  of  Aquitania  Secunda  (418),  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Pyrenees,  and  received  by  treaty 
with  Rome  the  magnificent  river  country  of  the  Ga- 
ronne, from  Toulouse  to  the  ocean.  Populous  cities 
abounded  in  this  voluptuous  region,  —  Bordeaux,  Agen, 
Angouleme,  Poitiers,  and  Toulouse,  —  and  at  last  there 

*  Heyne,  Beoviilf,  i.  2t)-.52. 


INTERIOR  OF  TOLEDO  CATHEDRAL. 


Ill 


i       ■ 


Attila  the  Hun, 


27 


seemed  a  resting-place  found  for  this  wandering  race. 
The  "luxurious  land  of  the  golden  Garonne,"  the 
"pearl  of  Gaul,"  as  it  was  called,  — an  inimitable 
domain,  which  was  a  tangled  wilderness  of  wine,  and 
burnished  harvest-fields,  and  orchards,  where  glad  songs 
were  chanted  under  the  myrtles  and  plane  trees,  spark- 
ling fountains  bedewed  the  gardens,  and  gliding  rivers 
multiplied  the  fertility  of  the  soil  infinitely,  —  became 
the  possession  of  the  Visigoths  for  nearly  a  century ; 
and  here  was  founded  that  kingdom  of  Toulouse  (419- 
507),  which  formed  the  stepping-stone  between  Prank- 
ish Gaul  and  the  great  Visigothic  monarchy  in  the 
Iberian  peninsula. 

Wallia  died  in  the  first  year  after  the  return  from 
Spain  (419),  and  was  followed  by  Theoderic  I.  (419- 
451),  who  was  elected  by  popular  choice,  as  was  usual 
with  the  Germanic  nations,  and  had  no  family  relation- 
ship with  his  predecessor. 

It  was  during  this  reign  that  the  movement  of  Attila, 
king  of  the  Huns,  against  the  western  empire,  took 
place,  and  that  the  efforts  of  "  the  scourge  of  God  "  to 
separate  Romans  and  Visigoths,  or  play  these  races 
skilfully  against  each  other  for  his  own  purposes,  were 
brought  to  overwhelming  defeat  at  Chiions  (451),  by 
Aetius,  the  Roman  general,  and  the  aged  Theoderic. 
The   latter   died,    fighting   gloriously  on   the   field  of 

battle. 

Thorismund,  his  eldest  (?)  son,  was  raised  by  popular 
acclaim  on  the  spot  to  succeed  his  father ;  but  he  was 
shortly  afterward  murdered  by  his  brothers,  Theoderic 
and  Fridric  (453).  Theoderic  II.  reigned  from  453 
to  466,  when  he  "  paid  as  he  deserved,"  in  the  simple 


28 


Spain  under  the  Visigoths. 


Clovis  the  Frank. 


29 


verdict  of  the  historian.  He  fell  a  victim  to  the  ambi- 
tion of  his  brilliant  and  powerful  brother  Euric,  whose 
eighteen  years'  reign  greatly  extended  the  Gothic  power 
in^Gaul  and  Spain,  who  cast  off  the  supremacy  of 
Rome,  and  lifted  the  people  from  a  feeble  to  a  com- 
manding position  by  his  bold,  shrewd,  and  inflexible 
policy.  An  admirable  statesman  as  well  as  an  intrepid 
conqueror,  he  knew  how  to  draw  profit  from  pre-exist- 
ing relations  with  Rome,  from  the  cultivated  provincial 
Roman  nobility,  from  Celts  and  Suevi.  He  ravaged 
the  plains  of  the  south  of  France  so  terribly  that  the 
stags  came  to  wander  in  herds  through  the  streets  of 
Vienne,  while  the  Roman  aristocracy  of  the  country  re- 
solved, in  case  of  extremity,  to  emigrate  or  to  enter  the 
ministry, —  "  to  leave  their  homes  or  their  hair,"  as 
Apollinaris  Sidonius  quaintly  expressed  it. 

Euric's  efforts  were  crowned  with  success,  and  soon 
the  Goths  held  the  whole  domain  bounded  by  the  two 
seas,  the  Rhone,  and  the  Garonne.  In  461  there  was 
no  longer  any  Roman  army  in  Spain  to  oppose  the 
complete  disintegration  of  that  vast  Roman  province  ; 
gradually  all  the  larger  towns  had  been  taken  from  the 
Suevi  and  the  Roman  provincials,  until  soon  the  Goths 
occupied  the  entire  peninsula  with  the  exception  of  a 
narrow  strip  in  the  extreme  northwest,  where  the  Suevi 
maintained  themselves  among  the  inaccessible  sierras 
of  Galicia. 

Euric  became  so  powerful  that  it  is  said  his  palace 
swanned  with  ambassadors  from  the  Saxons,  Franks, 
Heruli,  Burgundians,  Romans,  and  Persians,  seeking 
his  alliance.  He  was  the  mightiest  prince  of  the  Occi- 
dent, and  his  name  "  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  the 


people  beyond  the  sea."  The  western  empire  was  at 
its  last  gasp,  and  the  Ostrogoths  and  Franks  had  not 
yet  risen  to  importance  upon  its  ruins.  An  enthusi- 
astic Arian,  like  most  of  his  race,  the  "  word  Catholic 
distorted  his  face  and  heart  like  vinegar,"  says  a 
Roman  rhetorician  of  Euric  ;  hence  the  obstinate  and 
dangerous  opposition  of  the  Catholic  bishops  which 
threatened  his  life  and  ended  in  the  destruction  of  his 
great  work  of  conquest,  consolidation,  and  reform. 
He  died  in  his  bed  in  485,  happily  before  the  treason 
of  the  Catholic  clergy,  and  the  sympathy  of  the  Catho- 
lic laity,  had  lost  nearly  the  whole  of  Gothic  Gaul  to 
the  Franks,   under   his  son  and ^  successor,  Alaric  H. 

("485-507). 

The  Franks,  destined  of  all  the  German  tribes  to  the 
noblest   future,    were    now   governed   by  the   youthful 
Clovis,  an  impersonation,  as  he   has  been  truly  called, 
of  all  the  national  Frankish  qualities.  .  He  possessed 
great  rapidity  of  insight,  profound  knowledge  of   his 
enemy's  weak  points,  swiftness  in  action,  and  a  nerve 
that  quailed  before  no  enormity.     A  pagan  fatalist,  he 
was  almost  uninterruptedly  lucky,  heading  a  numerous 
and  skilfully-trained   people,   in    a   country  singularly 
well  situated  for  the  foundation  of  a  great  empire  :  yet  a 
Catholic,  gathering  about  him  an  unexampled  force  of 
natural  and  national,  political  and  ecclesiastical  advan- 
tages, neither  the  effeminate  civilization  of  the  south, 
no^'r  tiie  heathen  and  Arians  in  the  east  and  west,  could 
avail  against  his  vigor.     Besides  this,  all  Gaul  longed 
to  get  rid  of  the  Goths.     Clovis  proclaimed  a  religious 
war  against  the  heretics  who  dared  to   believe  in  one 
Uncreate   Spirit  and  not  in  three,  and  with  a  rare  mix- 


\ 


III 


30 


Spain  under  the  Visigoths. 


Regicides, 


31 


ii-» 


ture  of  fanaticism  and  shrewdness,  superstition  and 
self-trust,  deceit  and  conviction,  managed  to  identify 
the  victory  of  his  nation  with  the  cause  of  religion  in  a 
manner  psychologically  most  interesting.  He  crushed 
and  slew  Alaric,  after  having  sent  to  the  grave  of  Saint 
Martin  of  Tours,  to  obtain  some  hint  of  the  issue  of 
the  war.  His  messengers  were  told  to  give  heed  to  the 
psalms  that  should  be  sung  in  their  visit  to  the  church, 
and  lo  !  they  turned  out  to  be  Psalms  xvii.  39-40,  and 
xviii.  40-41  :  "  Thou  hast  also  given  me  the  necks  of 
mine  enemies  ;   that   I   might  destroy  them  that  hate 


me. 


)> 


Armed  with  this  evidence  of  the  smile  of  Providence, 
Clovis  marched  to  victory,  enveloped  in  a  cloud  of 
miraculous  accompaniments  ;  a  hind,  dispatched  by 
one  of  the  saints,  showed  him  the  ford  over  the  swollen 
Vienne ;  a  pillar  of  fire  flashed  welcome  from  the  pin- 
nacle of  the  Cathedral  of  Poitiers,  as  he  moved  on- 
ward. 

Thus  the  fate  of  the  Visigothic  empire  in  Gaul  was 
decided  by  a  single  battle.  Internal  dissension,  the 
lack  of  an  hereditary  succession  to  the  throne,  by 
which  a  great  empire  could  have  been  concentrated  and 
supplied  with  means  against  a  day  of  trial,  the  frantic 
hostility  of  the  Catholic  population  to  their  heterodox 
tyrants,  and  a  loose  and  rotten  organization  of  the  en- 
tire military  and  political  despotism,  did  the  rest.  The 
bastard  Gesalic,  son  of  Alaric,  disputed  the  succession 
with  his  half-brother,  Amalaric,  while  the  adherents  of 
the  latter,  accompanied  by  the  five-year-old  king  him- 
self, and,  according  to  the  legend,  by  the  jewels  of 
Solomon  from  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  fled  pell-mell 


over  the   Pyrenees,  and  found  a  refuge  in  the  fortified 
city  of  Carcasonne. 

The  Prankish  successes,  however,  were  soon  stemmed 
by  the  victorious  arms  of  Theoderic  the   Great — the 
greatest  of  all  the  Gothic  kings  —  who,  warmly  espous- 
ing the  cause  of  his  grandson,  Amalaric,  rapidly  over- 
ran the   south  of   France,  and  snatched  it  from    the 
Franks.      He    soon,   however,    abandoned   these   con- 
quests to  his  enemy,  whose  death  in  511   relieved  the 
Goths  of  a  dreaded  antagonist.    Theoderic  united  *  the 
East  and  West  Goths,   remaining  as  long  as  he  lived 
the  guardian  of  the  Visigothic  kingdom.     His  death  in 
526  left  Amalaric  sovereign  of  the  now  fully  independ- 
ent kingdom  of  the  Visigoths,  though  he  ceded  to  the 
Ostrogoths  nearly  all  of  the  Gallic  possessions  of  his 
race,  and  constituted  the  Rhone  the  boundary  line  be- 
.  tween  the  kindred,  but  severed  nationalities. 

Amalaric's  death  left  the  throne  open  to  the  Ostro- 
gothic  usurper,  Theudis  (531-548),  who  resided  in  the 
strong  frontier  fortress  of  Barcelona,  in  order  to  be 
near  the  Franks,  who  ceaselessly  strove  for  possession 
of  the  whole  of  France  as  well  as  for  the  expulsion  of 
the  heretics  over  the  Pyrenees. 

Murdered  at  Seville,  after  vain  attempts  to  drive  out 
the  Byzantine  garrison  of  Justinian  from  Africa,  he 
was  succeeded  by  his  general,  Theudigisel  who,  reign- 
ing ingloriously  for  seventeen  months  (548-549)'  ^^^^ 
stabbed  to  death  at  a  nocturnal  banquet  in  Seville 
when  the  lights  were  suddenly  extinguished. 

The  Goths  were  a  nation  of  regicides,   and  it  was 
well  said  of  them,  that  they  had  the  "  abominable  habit 
*  E.  A.  Freeman,  Goths,  Encyc.  Brit.,  uinth  edition. 


r 


I 


¥1 


32 


Spain  under  the  Visigoths, 


of  assassinating  any  king  they  did  not  like,"  and  install- 
ing another  in  his  place.  The  historian  Marina  wrote, 
that  of  the  thirty-two  Gothic  kings,  eight  were  usurpers, 
four  were  deprived  of  the  crown,  and  eight  were  assas- 
sinated, among  whom  two  were  fratricides ;  in  all, 
twenty  crimes  out  of  thirty-two  accessions.  The  lack 
of  a  vigorous  hereditary  ruler  led  to  misdeeds,  despotic 
violence  and  caprice,  and  perpetual  revolution. 

In  the  reign  of  Agila  (549-554),  Theudigisel's  suc- 
cessor Athanagild,  his  opponent,  committed  the  memo- 
rable misstep  of  inviting  Justinian  to  help  him  against 
the  king.  Byzantine  garrisons,  therefore,  soon  mastered 
and  held  for  nearly  seventy  years,  most  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean seaports  and  fortresses,  from  Lucruna  to  the 
"  Holy  Cape,"  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  were  wel- 
comed with  delight  by  the  Catholic  and  Anti-Gothic 
party.  Agila  expiated  by  his  blood  the  feebleness  of 
an  unlucky  and  ignominious  reign,  and  Athanagild, 
a  Gothic  noble  of  influence,  was  recognized  (554-567) 
in  his  stead. 

The  position  of  Athanagild  was  the  more  perilous, 
as,  besides  the  presence  of  the  Greek  "  patricians," 
who  galled  his  flanks  and  girdled  his  realm  to  the  east 
and  south,  the  Suevi  now  adopted  the  Catholic  confes- 
sion and  united  with  Greeks  and  Menvings  to  make 
common  cause  against  the  Visigothic  interlopers.  But 
he  died  before  his  apprehensions  from  these  sources 
were  realized. 

After  an  interregnum  of  five  months,  Duke  Leova  I. 
was  elevated  to  the  vacant  dignity  by  the  Gallic  prov- 
ince, and,  associating  his  younger  brother  Leovigild 
with  him  in  the  government,  averted  the  outbreak  of  a 


A  Real  Hero. 


33 


'.^  A  f^  lincrer  uDon  a  real  hero  —  a  ruggea,  un 

Trreeks  Franks,  Catholics,  and  Romans,  and,  wi  h- 
of  Greeks,  i^ranK  ,.r        restored  the  prestige 

out  abjunng  '-  J^^^^^^^;;":, Used  the  turbulent 
°'Z  ^'  Setwa  Toslwho  had  got  the  habit  of 
nobles.       He  slew  a  ^,^^^„i,ier,  Gregory;  he 

™"f  "f  tre  su^   by  wholesale   confiscation   and   in- 

'         H  taxa?on     and  he  was  the  first  of  the  Gothic 

r^ril^dre  s"ed  Z  royal  purple  and  sat  on  a  thron. 

Under  him  Toledo  became  the  permanent  residence  o 
Under  him,  i  o  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^  „j 

t^  emanX  from  Euric  and  Alaric,  ajKi  he 
'Xted  to  introduce  the  heredita^  P^^cipje  b^ 
causing  the  two  sons  of  his  first  marriage,  n  ^ 

and  Recared,  to  be  recognized  as  his  associates  in  the 

^Thrcrnveision  of  Hermenigild  to  Catliolicism  by 
means  of  his  Frankish  wife,  Ingunthis,  who  was  also 
Ss  step  niece,  lighted  the  flames  of  civil  war  anew  in 
t  Som  Lovigild  was,  originally,  by  no  means 
In  enemy  to  Catholicism ;  but  the  course  of  his  son. 
/thTeternal  intrigues  of  his  Catholic  subjects,  drove 
Zl  taos  totale'ss.  Hermenigild  conspired  against 
hirflher,  was  beaten   in   battle   and  captured,  and 


II 


S4 


Spain  under  the  Visigoths, 


though  assured  by  his  father  of  his  personal  safety  was 
put  to  death  in  585  —  less,  it  would  seem,  for  the 
coarse  criminality  of  his  conduct  than  as  an  heroic 
remedy  for  healing  the  dissensions  of  the  kingdom  and 
delivering  it  over  intact  into  the  hands  of  the  Arian 
Recared.  For,  from  a  conflict  of  confessions,  it  had 
become  a  conflict  of  races.  Goths  and  Romans  con- 
tended desperately  for  preponderance,  and  it  was  only 
through  the  infinite  tact  and  patience  of  Leovigild, 
aided  by  a  salutary  recognition  on  the  part  of  the 
nation  of  his  inexorable  force,  that  the  complex  organ- 
ization held  together  at  all. 

The  downfall  of  the  Suevian  kingdom  (583-584)  in 
the  northwest,  —  a  stormy  neighbor,  always  awake  to 
every  disadvantage  and  disaster  that  befell  the  Goths, — 
and  its  incorporation  into  the  kingdom,  left  Leovigild 
virtually  master  of  the  peninsula.  The  last  king  of  the 
Suevi  vanished  in  a  cloister. 

Of  the  Suevi  prior  to  their  migration  with  the  Van- 
dals and  Allemans  or  Alans  to  Spain,  in  409,  we  know 
absolutely  nothing.  For  many  years  the  peninsula  lay 
helpless  before  their  depredations,  and  their  power  was 
enabled  to  maintain  itself  for  nearly  two  centuries, 
owing  to  the  impregnable  cliffs  and  gorges  amid  which 
it  lived  and  throve.  Wretched  Hispania,  between  these 
two  Germanic  peoples  —  Goths  and  Suevi  —  was  in- 
deed "ground  to  pieces  as  between  two  millstones." 
"  The  dim  twilight  of  church  legends  "  hangs  around 
the  miracle-accompanied  conversion  of  the  Suevi  to 
Catholicism,  in  560.  The  final  amalgamation  of  Suevi 
and  Goths  under  Leovigild  in  585,  obliterated  forever 
all  lines  of  distinction  between  the  rival  establishments, 


The  Last  of  the  Goths. 


35 


though  it  has  been  suggested  that  the  noticeable  differ- 
ences between  Portuguese  and  Spaniard  may  have 
arisen  from  the  fact  that  ancient  Lusitania  was  the 
abode  of  the  Suevi,  while  the  Goths  spread  themselves 
over  the  rest  of  the  kingdom.  As  late  as  Philip  IL's 
day,  Suevosos,  los  sevosos,  is  said  to  have  been  a  nick- 
name given  by  the  Castilians  to  the  Portuguese. 

At  the  instance  of  Philip  IL,  the  great  saint-monger, 
who  even  asked  that  the  Cid  might  be  niched  among 
the  beatified  saints,  Hermenigild  was  enrolled  among 
the  noble  army  of  martyrs. 

Leovigild  died  at  Toledo  in  586,  in  the  midst  of 
negotiations  for  peace  with  the  Merwings  —  "  the  glor>' 
of  his  heroism  darkened,"  says  the  pious  Isidore,  "  by 
the  error  of  his  misbelief." 

He  was  the  last  of  the  antique  type  of  Arian  Goths, 
and  he  battled  in  the  old  Gothic  way  against  the  old 
immemorial  perils.    Catholicism  ;  a  sanguinary  nobility 
*'  chain-mailed  in  complicated  intrigue  ;  "  and  continual 
perils  from  within,  were  met  by  him  with  wonderful 
sagacity,  vanquished,  temporarily  at  least,   and  set  at 
rest,  for  the  time  being.     In  the  next  reign,  Catholicism 
is  in  the   ascendant,    the  Arians  are   the   persecuted, 
and  a  homogeneous   Spain,  henceforth  to  be  ruled  by 
the   ecclesiastical   parliaments  of    Toledo,    and   going 
slowly  to  pieces   under   that   rule,   becomes  ripe  and 
rotten,  through  every  manner  of  moral  corruption,  for 
the  Berber  conquest.     And  out  of  this  is  to  rise  the 
evolution  of   that  beautiful  Castilian  chivalry,   whose 
achievements,  for  seven  hundred  years,  rang  in  the  ears 
of  the  civilized  world,  and   evoked  a  matchless  min- 
strelsy precious  to  the  hearts  of  all  lovers  of  poetry. 


\\i    I 


I : 


36 


Spain  under  the  Visigoths. 


The  one  hundred  and  fifteen  years  from  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Goths  to  Catholicism,  to  their  utter  down- 
fall before  the  Arabs,  form  a  period  crowded  with 
events.  Recared  I.  Cs86-6oi),  Leovigild's  son  and 
successor,  whether  yielding  to  the  superior  organization 
of  the  church  of  Rome,  its  intellectual  superiority  and 
culture,  its  unexampled  consistency,  amid  the  shifting 
phases  and  time-serving  spirit  of  Arianism  ;  or  whether, 
—  despite  his  witnessing,  and  silently  approving,  the 
martyrdom  of  his  sainted  brother,  Hermenigild,—  a  sin- 
cere convert  to  the  eloquence  and  astuteness  of  the 
Catholic  prelates,—  Recared,  at  length  gave  way  to  a 
faith  which  was  now  triumphant  in  Italy,  Gaul,  and 
the  Orient,  and  declared  himself,  in  586,  "  moved  by 
heavenly  and  earthly  motives,"  to   adopt  Catholicism. 


CHAPTER  II. 

SPAIN   UNDER   THE   VISIGOTHS   (Continued). 

THE  "  earthly  reasons  "  doubtless  preponderated, 
and   circumstances    compelled    Recared   to   fly 
into  the  arms  of  the  Holy  Church,  as     a    protection 
against  his  own  nobles,  and  the  misery  of  an  eterna 
wran-le  with  the  rebellious    common   people.       lie 
wealth,    moral    influence,    education,    system    of    the 
Catho  ic  clergy,  alone  seemed  able  to  save  him  from 
Sttr  and^  outer  enemies,  and  to  assist  him  to  cope 
with   the  difficulties  of  his  situation.     The  flatte^  of 
these  hallucinations -the  salvation  of  himself  and  hi. 
people  within  the  pale  of    an   inexorable  machine - 
proved  the  ruin  of  the  Visigothic  monarchy.     Hence- 
forth it  lost  its  independence,  became  a  chattel  of  the 
councils  of  Toledo,  and  the  horrified  barbarians  had  to 
witness  the  spectacle  of  a  king,  crawling  on  his  knees, 
and  blubbering  penitentially  before  the  despotic  metro- 
politan of  the  capital. 

Multitudes,  both  of  the  common  people  and  the 
Gothic  grandees,  followed  the  royal  example,  though  a 
total  conversion  took  place  only  in  the  gradual  progress 
of  time.  Fierce  persecution  of  the  Arians  immediately 
ensued  ;  they  were  to  be  excluded  from  all  civil  and 
military   employments,    to   be   exterminated   root   and 

37 


36 


Spain  under  the  Visigoths. 


The  one  hundred  and  fifteen  years  from  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Goths  to  Catholicism,  to  their  utter  down- 
fall before  the  Arabs,  form  a  period  crowded  with 
events.  Recared  I.  (586-601),  Leovigild's  son  and 
successor,  whether  yielding  to  the  superior  organization 
of  the  church  of  Rome,  its  intellectual  superiority  and 
culture,  its  unexampled  consistency,  amid  the  shifting 
phases  and  time-serving  spirit  of  Arianism  ;  or  whether, 
—  despite  his  witnessing,  and  silently  approving,  the 
martyrdom  of  his  sainted  brother,  Hermenigild,  —  a  sin- 
cere convert  to  the  eloquence  and  astuteness  of  the 
Catholic  prelates,—  Recared,  at  length  gave  way  to  a 
faith  which  was  now  triumphant  in  Italy,  Gaul,  and 
the  Orient,  and  declared  himself,  in  586,  "  moved  by 
hea\enly  and  earthly  motives,"  to  adopt  Catholicism. 


\ 


CHAPTER  II. 

SPAIN   UNDER   THE   VISIGOTHS   (Continxted). 

T'HE  "  earthly  reasons  "  doubtless  preponderated, 
and   circumstances    compelled    Recared   to   fly 
into  the  arms  of  the  Holy  Church,  as     a     protect.or> 
against  his  own  nobles,  and  the  misery  of  an  eterna 
wran.^le   with   the   rebellious    common   people.      The 
vealtl     moral    influence,    education,    system    of    the 
Cat I'ic  clergy,  alone  seemed  able  to  save  ..m  fro.n 
his  inner  and  outer  enemies,  and  to  --    ""   ^  ^"P;^ 
with  the  difficulties  of  his  situation.    The  flatte^^  of 
h    ehallucinations-the  salvation  of  himself  and  his 
people  within  the  pale  of    an   inexorable  machine  - 
pro 'ed  the  ruin  of  the  Visigothic  '-°"=^"-*y-    .^^^^ 
forth  it  lost  its  independence,  became  a  chattel  of  the 
councils  of  Toledo,  and  the  horrified  barbarians  had  to 
witness  the  spectacle  of  a  king,  crawling  on  his  knees, 
and  blubbering  penitentially  before  the  despotic  metro- 
politan of  the  capital. 

Multitudes,  both  of  the  common  people  and  the 
Gothic  grandees,  followed  the  royal  example,  though  a 
total  conversion  took  place  only  in  the  gradual  progress 
of  time.  Fierce  persecution  of  the  Arians  immediately 
ensued  ;  they  were  to  be  excluded  from  a  1  civil  and 
military   emplovments,    to   be   exterminated   root   and 

37 


11 


li 


38 


Spain  under  the  Visigoths. 


branch,  and  their  books  —  if  necessary,  themselves  — 
to  be  burned. 

After  the  overthrow  of  his  Arian  step-mother,  Godis- 
wintha  (who  had  formed  a  league  with  the  Franks  for 
the  destruction  of  her  second  step-son),  and  the  repulse 
of  the  Frankish  attack  in  Septimania,  with  loss  of  sixty 
thousand  Franks  to  three  hundred  Goths  (?),  Recared 
lived  in  tolerable  peace  with  his  people,  though  fre- 
quently harassed  by  Arian,  Basque,  and  Byzantine  in- 
roads. He  modified  the  Gothic  state  usages  extensively, 
assumed  at  his  solemn  coronation  the  title  "  Flavins^''' 
reorganized  the  internal  policy  of  the  kingdom,  and  by 
his  strict  alliance  of  church  with  state,  against  the 
lay  nobility,  and  the  reconciliation  between  Goths  and 
Romans,  which  he  accomplished,  did  much  to  amelio- 
rate and  tranquillize  the  condition  of  his  people.  The 
Gothic  was  not  a  tranquil  civilization  \  it  was  tempest- 
uous, lawless,  insubordinate  —  the  prey  of  passionate 
religious  beliefs,  the  plaything  of  any  vivid-minded  and 
ambitious  leader.  Hence  the  necessity  of  some  univer- 
sally recognized  principle  of  authority,  —  a  principle 
happily,  as  Recared  thought,  discovered  in  the  Church 
of  Rome. 

It  followed  logically,  from  Recared's  point  of  view, 
that  the  third  council  of  Toledo,  composed  of  sixty- 
two  bishops,  led  by  the  polished  Leander  of  Seville  and 
Mausona  of  Merida  (589),  should  become  actually  an 
imperial  parliament  as  well  as  a  ghostly  convention. 
And  here,  for  the  first  time,  was  acknowledged  the 
supremacy  of  the  church  not  only  over  the  spiritual 
and  secular  aristocracy,  but  over  the  crown  itself. 
Goths  and  Romans  blende  I  harmoniously  together  after 


Heeared. 


39 


the  reli-ious  breach  between   them  had  been  filled  up. 
A  Romtnization  of  the  Goths,   rather  than  a  German- 
ization  of  the  Romans,  followed  from  the  numerical 
superiority  of  the  latter,  as  a  matter  of  course      Though 
Roman  measures  and  weights  had  been  used  m  Spain, 
the  Roman  reckoning  of  time  had  not,  but  was  now 
first  adopted  by  the   Goths.     Recared's  code  of  laws 
for  his  people  became  immensely  modified  by  the  Ro- 
man law  ;  and  the  Roman-Byzantine   titles,  mode  of 
administration,    attributes,    functions,    even   court   eti- 
quette, penetrated  more  and  more  into  Spain. 

We  find  the  king  good-humored,  affable,  a  builder  ot 
churches  and  monasteries,  the  ^^ pater  patriae "  of  a 
le-endary  Golden  Age.  His  administration  was  of 
sin-ular  importance  for  the  whole  future  of  Spain ;  and 
though  fundamentally  different  from^his  father,  Recared 
had  a  gentle  and  beneficent  genius,  whose  spirit  ex- 
erted no  less  influence  than  Leovigild's  had  done. 
He  died  in  the  odor  of  sanctity,  and  was  followed  by 
his  son,  Leova  H.  (601-603). 

Leova  H.  fell  a  victim  to  a  final  rising  of  the  Arians, 
and  being  taken  prisoner,  it  is  affirmed  that  his  right 
hand  was  struck  off  and  he  himself  slain  by  Count 
Witteric,  an  Arian  Goth  (603-610).  The  attempted 
renaissance  of  Arianism  under  this  vigorous  upstart 
failed,  and  he,  like  Theudigisel,  was  killed  at  a  banquet 

Gunthimar  (Gundemar),  his  successor,  a  stinulacrum 
of  a  king,  who  has  scarcely  cast  a  shadow  across  the 
page  of  history,  reigned  till  612,  and  is  chiefly  memor- 
able for  the  huge  cluster  of  unverified  traditions  that 
have  gathered  about  his  supposed  church  policy. 


■ 


1 


40 


Spain  under  the  Vhigoths, 


The  reign  of  Sisibut,  his  follower,  was  distinguished 
for  the  final  cession  by  the  Byzantines,  of  all  their  pos- 
sessions on  the  Mediterranean,  the  sole  exception 
being  a  small  corner  of  the  peninsula  on  the  Atlantic. 
A  whole  chain  of  fortresses  and  cities  thus  came  into 
the  possession  of  the  Goths  (615-616),  but  there  is  no 
proof  that  this  king  reconquered  in  Africa  the  towns 
(Tangier  and  Ceuta)  which  had  been  lost  under  Theu- 
dis  and  are  found  in  possession  of  Roderic  when  the 
Berbers  crossed  into  Spain. 

Great  mildness,  intelligence,  and  devotion  to  science 
and  art  are  attributed  to  Sisibut ;  he  wTote  philo- 
sophical works,  built  the  famous  church  of  St.  Leo- 
cadia  at  Toledo,  distinguished  himself  by  the  refine- 
ment and  subtlety  of  his  rhetoric,  wrote  a  chronicle 
of  the  Goths,  now  lost,  and  was  —  "guilty  of  verses," 
hard  to  pardon  even  in  a  king  !  He  was  a  burning 
fanatic,  and  under  him  began  that  dismal  chain  of  per- 
secutions of  the  Jews  which  links  the  name  of  Sisibut, 
tlirough  nearly  nine  centuries,  to  that  of  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella.  Political  and  national  motives  were  of 
course  at  the  bottom  of  these  persecutions. 

Undeniably,  the  wealth  won  by  the  Jews  by  usury 
roused  the  envy  and  religious  passions  of  their  con- 
temporaries. They  had  been  extraordinarily  successful 
in  Spain.  Apart  from  this,  the  church  had  an  interest 
in  the  salvation  of  their  souls  and  —  the  appropriation 
of  their  money  chests.  Even  before  the  Gothic  con- 
quest, Spain  had  become  celebrated  for  the  passionate- 
ness  of  its  spiritual  beliefs,  and  we  may  well  be  as- 
sured that  the  present  hierarchy  did  not  let  the  holy 
fires  slumber  or  go  out. 


Swintila,  father  of  the  Poor. 


41 


The  first  notice  of  the  addiction  of  the  Spanish  peo- 
ple to  the  national  sport  of  bull-fighting,  seems  to  occur 
in  this  reign,  in  a  letter  of  rebuke  addressed  by  the 
pious  king  to  the  bishop  Eusebius. 

Sisibut  died  in  620,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Recared  II.  (620-621),  who  reigned  for  a  year.     Sis- 
ibut's  brave  general,  Swintila  (621-631)  was  chosen  to 
succeed  Recared,  and  won  great  glory  by  expelhng  the 
last  traces  of  the   Byzantines  from  the  kingdom,  after 
they  had   nested   in  the  sea-ports,   and   clung   to   the 
precipices  of  the  peninsula  for  seventy  years.     Sisibut's 
admirable  spirit  of  conciliation   towards  the  Byzantme 
intruders,  and  the  threatened  invasion  of  the   Eastern 
empire  by  the   Persians  and  Avars,  had  prepared  the 
way  for  these  important  acquisitions.     He  was  called 
the  "  father  of  the  poor,"  from  his  efforts  to  ameliorate 
the  condition  of  the  serfs,  and  to  keep  down  the  haughty 
spirit  of  the  church  and   nobility.     Devotedly  as  the 
Gothic  people    loved  the   principle  of    free  choice  in 
selecting  their  kings,  and  opposed  as  they  were  consti- 
tutionally, to  recognizing  in  any  of  their  clans  the  right 
to  furnish  them  with  hereditary  rulers,  they  yet  permit- 
ted  Swintila  to   associate  with  himself  in  the  govern- 
ment, his  son  Rikimir,  as  co-regent  and  successor.     He 
allowed  no  councils  to  assemble  during  the  ten  years  of 
his   reign,    for   they   might   only   too   eloquently   have 
shown  the  power  of  the  episcopacy,  and  have  led  to  re- 
newed troubles.     Swintila's  character,  hence,  was  sys- 
tematically blackened  by  the  clergy  ;  he  was  declared 
godless,     avaricious,  and  bloodthirsty  ;  wholesale  mur- 
der and  confiscation  were  attributed  to  him ;  and  the 


42 


Spain  under  the  Visiyotlis. 


affection  of  the  people  was  undermined   and  alienated 
by  the  insinuations  of  their  agents. 

Sisinant,  a  Gothic  count,  rose  against  him  in  Gaul, 
was  crowned  king,  and  purchased  the  help  of  Dagobert 
of  Neustria  by  means  of  the  famous  golden  basin, 
weighing  five  hundred  pounds,  said  to  have  been  ex- 
torted by  Thorismund,  the  conqueror  of  Attila,  from 
the  Romans,  as  compensation  for  certain  booty  sur- 
rendered. They  poured  over  the  Pyrenees  with  numer- 
ous troops,  penetrated  to  Saragossa,  and  succeeded  in 
stripping  Swintila  of  all  his  dependants.  Sisinant  (631) 
was  universally  recognized  king,  and  Swintila  and  his 
son  seem  to  have  gone  into  a  cloister.^ 

Sisinant  became  the  mere  tool  of  the  bishops,  the 
restoration  of  whose  power  was  now  complete.  The  theo- 
cratic tinge  of  the  Visigothic  monarchy  became  darker 
and  deeper  than  ever.  Amid  floods  of  tears  the  king 
fell  on  his  knees  before  the  fathers  at  the  council  of 
Toledo  (633),  and  supplicated  them  for  their  interces- 
sion with  God. 

The  characteristic  notice  of  him  is  that  **  Sisinant 
reigned  three  years,  held  a  council  of  the  bishops,  was 
patient,  and  followed  the  orthodox  Catholic  rules." 

This  council  asserted,  more  emphatically  than  ever, 
the  absolute  freedom  of  choice  as  to  rulers,  whilst  all 
rebellion  against  the  rightful  king,  when  elected,  was 
menaced  with  the  ban.  The  bishops  controlled,  how- 
ever, the  election  of  the  next  king,  Kindila  (636-640) 
whose  ''  many  synods,  and  great  strengthening  of  the 
empire  through  the  faith,"  are  concisely  commemorated 
in  a  couple  of  lines.  Thunders  of  excommunication 
were  threatened  against  insurrection,  magical  practices. 


Ecclesiastical  Intrigue, 


43 


and  the  setting  up  of  a  rival  king  ;  the  children  of  the 
king  were  protected  by  special  penalties  ;  and  the  per- 
son^of  the  king  himself  was  sought  to  be  made  mviola- 
ble.     Every  successor  was  bound  henceforth   (638)  to 
avenge  his  predecessor  in  case  of  murder,  and  to  free  him- 
self from  the  possible  suspicion  of  guilt,  by  the  thorough- 
ness of  this  vengeance.  The  priest-ridden  monarch  went 
so  far  as  to  say  that  none  but  Catholics  should  live  in  his 
kingdom,  and  by  his  triumphant  orthodoxy  won  over  the 
bishops  to  recognize   his   son  Tulga  (640-641)  as  his 
successor.     All  the  later  annals,  indeed,  of  this  process 
of  king-manufacture  by  church  councils,  are  fumigated 
with  incense  and  resonant  with  the  chant  of  the  kune 
eleeison.     The  kings  were  bits  of  crowned  wax  in  the 
fincrers  of    their  unctuous  manipulators.      Everywhere 
they're  is  the  reek  of  ecclesiastical  intrigue.     Everywhere 
the  bishop's  crook  is  intertwined  with  the  king's  sceptre, 
and  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  whether  it  is  a  mitre  or  a 
.  crown  that  the  king  wears. 

The  alliance  between  church  and  state,  however,  was 
not  so  indissoluble  but  that  the  secular  grandees  —  the 
great  Gothic  princely  families  —  winced  under  the  heel 
of  the  clergy.     Though  the  clergy  were  singularly  clear- 
sighted as  to  their  ultimate  object,  —  opulent,  unscrup- 
ulous, powerfully  intrenched  in  their  church  organization, 
and  numerous,  —  they  could  not  absolutely  extinguish 
the  martial  spirit  of  the  ancient  Visigothic  chieftains. 
This  was   soon  shown   in    the    rise  of  a  distinguished 
Goth,   Kindaswint  (641-652),   who  caused  himself    to 
be  proclaimed  king,  and  the  young  king  to  be  tonsured, 
and  thrust  into  a  cloister  —  at  once  nursery  and  hos- 
pital for  immature  or  superannuated  kinglets. 


u 


I'll 


1! 


» 

I  i 


44 


Spain  under  the  Visigoths, 


In  Kindaswint,  once  more  —  almost  for  the  last  time 
—  flashes  up  the  fire  of  the  old  Goths.      Nearly  eighty 
when  he  seized  the  reins  of  government,  his  will  of  iron 
aimed  at  no  less  than    the   establishment  of  a   strong 
and   concentrated  kingdom,   the   breaking  of  the  back- 
bone of  rebellion,   the  extirpation  of  refractory  nobles, 
and  the  banishment  of  turbulent  intriguers  to    France 
or  Africa.     The  clerg\^  was  strongly  represented  among 
the  "emigrants,"  who   found  it   convenient^to  shun  the 
wrath  of  this   fierce   octogenarian.     He    and  his  son, 
Rekiswint,   established  a   system  of    Germanic  law   in 
place  of  the   Roman  breviary  of  Alaric,  previously  in 
force  ;  they  reformed  thoroughly  the  courts   and  their 
procedure  ;  compelled  contumacious  bishops  and  priests 
to  appear  before  the  secular  judges  ;    made  provision 
for  the  faithful  carr}ing-out  of  verdicts  once  rendered ; 
menaced  peasant  and  paladin  with   the  same   criminal 
code,  with    the    same  punishment ;    and  bettered  the 
ledslation  that  concerned  the  lower  classes.     A  zealous 
Christian,   Kindaswint    lived   on  excellent    terms  with 
all    decent   ecclesiastics  ;  he    showed    literar)-  culture ; 
associated  with  scholars  and  poets ;  and  full  of  years, 
and  soon  to  be  venerated  by  the  superstitious  monks 
as  a  saint,  died   at  the   age  of  ninety,   in   652.     Rekis- 
wint, who  had  governed  with  him  for  three  years,  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne  (649-672). 

Again,  as  in  the  case  of  Recared,  and  Leovigild,  we 
have  the  sunshine  after  the  storm  —  the  lamb  following 
the  lion.  Historj'  tells  of  Rekiswint,  that  his  character 
was  irradiated  with  gentleness,  that  he  delighted  in  edi- 
fying conversation,  made  important  concessions  to  the 
church,  and  blamed  the  rigor  of  his  father  in  his  con- 


Rekiswint. 


45 


troversies  with  the  bishops.      He  purchased  conciha- 
ton  however,  at  the  expense  of  the  future  welfare  and 
.dependence  of  his  country.     Far  from  consohdatmg, 
e   dissolved   existing    institutions ;    he   -bulged   .he 
aggressive  aristocracy,  pardoned  rebels,   and  tnstttuted 
umpires  to  decide  cases  between  king  and  people.     The 
Sat  on  of  important  taxes  weakened  the  means  of 
t  government ;  it  was  said  of  him,  that  he  robbed  the 
m  n'rch  to  enrich  the  monarchy.     Sole-  y  -d  c^ 
cumstantially   recognizing    the   unhmtted    f«edon>   o^ 
choice  of  the  king  resting  in  the  nobles,  both  church 
fnd  lay,  numerous  church  assemblies  and  renewed  p«- 
ecution  of  the  Jews  sealed  his  orthodoxy  as  undoubt 
ed       Saint    and  Virgin   make   miraculous   apparitions 
during  his  reign,  and  a  rain  of  gold,  silver,  pearls,  and 
tdous  stones  emanating  from  the  royal  hands  bedews 
Tchurches  of  his  kingdom.     Bitter  b  ame  howe  e 
is  given  to  his  humility  -  a  trait  signally  out  of  place 
in  a  system  founded,  like  this,  on  might. 

Rekiswint  passed  away  near  Salamanca,  m  672.  Ihe 
God  ic  grand'ees,  obeying  the  law  that  the  new  king 
must  be  chosen  at  the  place  where  the  deceased  king 
Tad  died,  flocked  to  Salamanca.  Wamba,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  of  them,  was  chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

Th  usual  luxuriance  of  legend,  -J-'f -'^tTe t 
ant  in  these  later  times,  twines  about  Wamba  s  acces 
In  we  are  told,  for  example,  how  Pope  Leo  proph- 
esied Z  elevatio;.  and  how,  Cincinnatus-like,  he  was 
ca^^ed  away  from  the  plough  to  the  palace  ;  how  he 
de  ared  it  as  impossible  for  him  to  be  king,  as  for  the 
staff  with  which  he  was  driving  his  oxen  to  sprout  in 
Ws  h  nd ;  and  how  the  staff  .^  sprout  and,  moreover. 


46 


Spaiyi  under  the  Visigoths. 


blossom.  We  are  dramatically  introduced  to  him  in 
the  annals  of  a  contemporar>'  biographer,  who  tells  us 
how  grief  for  the  dead  king,  not  ambition,  had  brought 
him  to  Salamanca,  although  his  noble  race,  his  ripe 
wisdom,  his  tried  virtue,  could  not  but  lift  him  to  the 
throne :  hence,  unanimity  of  decision  among  the  gran- 
dees, obstinate  refusal  and  tears  of  surprised  modesty 
on  Wamba's  part,  eventually  overcome,  by  one  of  the 
grandees  seizing  a  sword  and  threatening  to  kill  him 
as  a  traitor  to  his  native  land,  if  he  persisted  in  jeop- 
ardizing its  welfare  by  declining.  Then  we  have  a 
dove-like  cloud,  and,  according  to  another  legend,  a 
dove  and  a  bee,  ascending  skyward  from  his  head,  at 
his  coronation  in  Toledo,  in  672. 

Insurrections  north  of  the  Pyrenees  and  under 
the  Byzantine  Duke  Paulus  in  Galicia  and  Asturias, 
troubled  the  eariy  years  of  his  reign.  Paulus's  aspira- 
tions to  the  throne  ended  in  total  discomfiture  and  a 
dunce-cap;  for,  being  besieged  in  Nimes,  celebrated 
for  its  splendid  amphitheatre,  he  was  captured  with  the 
city:  the  rebels  were  dragged  in  chains  — with  shaven 
heads  and  chins  (a  brand  of  ignominy),  and  clad  in  cam- 
el's hair  —  through  the  streets,  and  Paulus  himself  w^as 
decked  as  it  afterwards  became  the  fashion  to  deck  the 
martyrs  at  an  auto  defe.  The  Basque  guerriUeros,  cling- 
ing to  their  eagles'  nests  among  the  porphyry  cliff s  of  the 
Pyrenees,  were  soon  brought  to  terms,  and  everything 
tended  to  the  belief  that  a  brilliant  and  able  adminis- 
tration had  begun.  Wamba,  it  is  said,  vigorously  re- 
formed the  navy,  and  repelled  the  first  invasion  of  the 
Arabs  under  Acba,  the  general  of  the  Khalif  Yezid, 
though  it   is   thought  that    the  campaign  is  legendary. 


King  Wamha, 


47 


Society  and  the  state  equally  demanded  heroic  meas- 
ure Lalvation  from  within  and  from  without  was  to  be 
expected.    The  slaves  were  called  to  arms,  only  a  tenth  of 

he  whole  number  being  allowed  to  stay  at  home  for  the 
cu  tivation  of  the  fields.     The  great  free  middle  class, 

^e  bulwark  of    the  kingdom,  had  fearfully  dimimsh^ 
either  crushed  into  the  rank  of  serfs  or  sunk  by  debt 


KiNQ  Wamba. 

into  that  of  slaves ;  and  the  very  heart  of  the  monarchy, 
te  m^nspring  of  defence  and  national  independence, 
wilne  T^ere  was  no  longer  any  enthusiasm  to  fol- 
xZ  fhe  king's  summons  to  arms,  and  there  arose  a  lux- 
low  the  •^ing  _  .  effeminacy,  superstitious, 
unous  anstocracy,  steepcu  ;,,  ^„„„i:pfi  the 
inactive  and  unintelligent,  which  but  lU-supplied  the 
place  oi  the  middle  class.    The  utmost  acnmony  de- 


48 


Spain  under  the  Visigoths. 


veloped  against  Wamba  on  the  side  of  the  church,  for 
his  unsparing  use  of  its  wealth  in  the  defence  of  the 
land,  and  it  was  probably  to  church  intrigue  that  he 
owed  his  fall. 

Among  all  his  paladins  none  was  more  honored  by 
Wamba  than  Erwic,  a  Goth,  son  of  the  Greek  Arde- 
bast  and  a  relation  of  the  king.  He  handed  the  king  a 
deadly  potion,  which,  instead  of  killing  him,  threw  him 
into  a  death-like  stupor,  during  which  he  was  seized, 
tonsured,  and  thrust  into  a  monk's  habit  (680). 

Erwic  was  immediately  proclaimed  king,  though  Wam- 
ba continued  to  live  tranquilly  as  a  monk  in  a  monaste- 
ry near  Burgos.  His  resignation  is  attributed  to  his 
consciousness  of  the  power  of  his  adversary,  and  the 
superstition  that  even  a  "  moine  malgrd  lui,"  as  Mon- 
talambert  calls  him,  could  no  longer  interest  himself  in 
the  affairs  of  this  world. 

Erwic's  chief  support  was  the  powerful  archbishop  of  To- 
ledo, Julian,  whose  arrogance  soon  became  unbearable, 
A  palace  revolution,  whose  principal  actors  were  priests, 
augured  ill  for  this  reign,  w^hich,  in  fact,  was  eight 
years  of  disaster,  corruption,  and  concession.  The 
privileges  and  powers  of  clergy  and  nobles,  continually 
increased  to  the  detriment  of  the  crown,  prepared  the 
way  slowly  but  surely  for  the  inevitable  downfall  of  a 
kingdom  neariy  300  years  old.  Tyranny,  indecency, 
contempt  of  law,  frantic  party  spirit,  eternal  rebellion, 
oppression  of  the  slaves,  the  conversion  of  whole 
provinces  into  the  private  possessions  of  an  abandoned 
upper  class ;  all  this  was  an  emphatic  preparation  for 
Taric  and  his  hordes.  Erwic's  laws  against  the  Jews  — 
who,  dismal  as  their  fate  had  been,  had  exhibited  great 
culture   and  showed   great  skill   in  theological  contro- 


The  Exiled  Jews, 


49 


versy  with  the  Christian  doctors,  -  reveal  a  cruelty  and 
anatidm  worthy  of  the  inquisition.  Concessions  were 
onebyonemade'onall  sides  but  th- j^ ^-^  ^^^^^^J 
wLba's  policy  of  defence  for  the  kmgdom  fatally 
Jeatned^ugLes  who  had  forfeited  freedom  and 
Ltntdoned  ;  in  short,  a  period  of   universal  dism- 

smitten,  and  tormented  by  ^-^^^^^^''7;'^^^^^^^ 
leavincr  the  throne,  as  a  compensation  for  the  mfamy  ot 
M:  conduct,  not   to  his  own  children,  but  to   Egica,  a 

"?"  ?  rd'n 'has  been  well   described  as  one  long 

than  the  most  tyrannical  conduct  would  have  done 
eZ  was  Erwic's  son-in-law,  and  though  devoted  to 

;  coSiracy  to  assassinate  the  king  and  his  family. 

rr  factor  of  great  peril  to  the  state  now  appears 
formidable  shape  :  the  tortured,  ^^^J^^ 

Their  Dosition  in  Africa  was  far  more  tolerable  than  m 
Lain  as  he  ordinances  fulminated  against  them  by  the 
bpain,  ab  ui^  e„ffered  to  fall  into  dis- 

Byzantine  emperors  had  been    uffered  ^^ 

n<;p  •  and  on  the  conquest  of  Africa  Dy  tne  lu 
Mahomet     the    Hebrews,   as   belonging   to    a   stnctly 
It-Th  Ist  Jfaith  which  did  not  recognize  image-wor 
Ip  in   any  form,  were   allowed   full   exercise  of  their 


I 


50 


Spain  under  the    Visigothc, 


faith,  and  only  had  to  pay  the  small  capitation  tax  which 
was  exacted  by  the  Mahometans  of  all  subject  tribes  of 
other  creeds.  The  comparison  between  their  condition 
in  Africa  and  in  Spain  increased  their  hatred  for  the  op- 
pressor ;  they  conspired  with  the  Spanish  Jews,  and, 
probably,  with  the  Arabs,  with  a  view  to  an  invasion  of 
Spain  by  the  Arabs,  and  the  liberation  of  their  country- 
men from  the  misery  of  their  situation.  Their  fury 
reached  the  highest  pitch  when,  in  694,  the  council  of 
Toledo-  resolved  upon  their  universal  enslavement  and 
distribution  among  the  Christian  families  of  the  realm. 

This  trumpet-blast  of  fanaticism  rings  in  our  ears  as 
the  last  authentic  act  of  the  great  Gothic  state.  We 
know  next  to  nothing  of  the  last  seventeen  years  of  its 
existence  and  we  leave  the  finn  ground  of  history  for  a 
battle-ground  of  innumerable  legends,  bright,  fantastic, 
beautiful,  and  misleading. 

Before  his  decease,  however,  the  king  contrived  to 
get  his  son  W^itica,  Duke  of  Galicia,  acknowledged  as 
his  successor. 

That  \^'itica  was  greatly  beloved  by  his  people,  greatly 
detested  by  the  priesthood,  that  he  energetically  resisted 
the  encroachments  of  the  bishops,  that  he  was  dissolute 
in  his  conduct,  that  he  recalled  those  who  had  been  un- 
justly banished,  and  restored  to  them  their  offices  and 
property,  and  that  he  generously  destroyed  the  fraudu- 
lent acknowledgments  of  debt  extorted  by  his  father 
from  his  subjects,  is  all  that  we  can  extract  of  certain, 
from  the  meagre  annals  of  the  time.  About  him,  as 
about  his  successor,  Roderic,  —  "  Don  Rodrigo,  the  last 
of  the  Goths,"  —  play  the  lights  of  a  thousand  legends. 
Spanish  romance  has  enshrined  them  both  in  imperish- 


Roderic,  the  last  of  the  aoths. 


51 


able  lines,  and  it  is  difficult  to  separate  truth  from  fic- 

'"witica  seems  to  have  died  a  natural  death  (710),  and 
Roderk   clings   to   history  by  the   finest   o£   gossamer 
fhreads      That  he  existed  at  all,  is  known  to  us  alone 
Lnte  liL  of  the  names  of  the  Gothic  Icings  that  ex- 
tend down  to  him.     A  single  doubtful  conr  wrth   h. 
name  on  it,  and  a  legendary-  grave  .nscnpt.on  at  Vi  eu 
in  Portu.ral,  attributed  to  him,  cast  a  moribund  lUumina 
ZlT:r  Ws  shadowy  form.     The  zeal  of  the  genealo^ 
lists  of  the   sixteenth   and   seventeenth   centunes  has 
W  herto  served  to  vitalize  this  kingly  exhalation,  and 
^ake   t  palpitate  before  us  in  flesh  and  blood ;  but  their 
Xrt  wa's  purely  political,  and  their  object  was  to  give 
greater  splendor  to  the  Spanish  monarchy  than  to    he 
French  kingdom  and  the  German  empire,  by  tracin 
?t   tints  in  a  straight  line,  back  to  the  Emperor  Theodo- 
sis    tnd  to  do  so   a  mistake  in  a  spelling,  or  a  blun- 
Sg  reading,  led  to  the  insertion  of  a  suppos^Uo 
kin-  Acausa,  thrust  in  between  Wit.ca  and  Roderic,  to 
make  the  genealogical  ».xus  complete^ 

Roderic's  name  is  a  peg  upon  which  <=0""'l^^^  JJ^ 
in.  inventions  have  been  hung.  Spanish  Chnstians 
•  anil  Arabian  poets,  ballad-writers  ^^  --;;^  *  :^ ". 
clers  historians  to  whose  heads  the  wine  of  these  delight 
fT£ons  has  but  too  readily  mounted,  and  verse- 
w  iters  in  search  of  a  graceful  and  pathetic  theme 
Illve  made  of  "  Don  Rodrigo  "  the  incarnation  of  their 

.''^.^RfdSrrsroTthat  brave  Duke  Theodifred, 
.homttic'a  blinded,"  says  the  legend  "leaped  "PO" 
the  throne  after  Witica's  death,  and  excluded  the  kin„  s 


52 


Spain  under  ihe   Visigoths, 


sons  from  the  succession.  These  princes,  and  the  gov- 
ernor of  Africa,  Count  JuUan,  whom  the  king  had  pre- 
viously driven  to  deadly  revenge,  by  the  seduction  of  his 
lovely  daughter,  Dona  Cava,  or  Florinda,  called  the 
Arabs  secretly  into  the  land.  In  the  decisive  battle, 
wherein  the  king  appeared  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  eight 
white  mules,  the  traitors,  to  whom  the  flanks  of  the 
Christian  host  had  been  entrusted,  went  over  to  the 
enemy,  and  battle  and  realm  were  lost  forever  to  the 
Goths.  King  Roderic  vanished.  His  golden  shoes 
were  found  in  the  reeds  bv  the  river."  * 

History  simply  says,  that  the  decayed  Visigothic 
commonwealth  had  long  been  ripe  for  destruction  when 
the  light-footed  Arabs,  invincibly  fierce  and  potent, 
crossed  the  strait  and  gave  it  the  finishing  blow.  A 
kingdom  ulcerated  with  ever}'  imaginable  evil  as  this 
one  was  —  partisanship,  contending  nobles,  clash  of 
church  with  state,  religious  persecution,  brigandage  on 
a  gigantic  scale,  extirpation  of  a  free  middle  class, 
peopling  of  mountains  and  forest  with  thousands  of 
runaway  slaves,  ready  to  join  any  conqueror  —  was 
ready  for  a  catastrophe.  Well  has  it  been  said  that  the 
legend  has  typically  attributed  the  fatal  aberrations  of 
the  entire  nation,  its  extravagance  and  its  party  hate,  to 
the  last  kings,  Witica  and  Roderic. 

Roderic  had  no  successor.  In  the  great  battle  of 
Xeres  de  la  frontera,  the  Berbers  commanded  by  Taric 
the  One-eyed,  were  victorious,  and  in  a  few  days,  says  the 
historian,  watered  their  horses,  in  their  progress  from 
south-west  to  north-east,  in  the  Guadalquivir,  the 
Guadiana,  and  the  Tagus,  —  capturing  the  great  cities, 
of  Cordova,  Malaga,  Granada  (Illiberis),    and    Toledo, 


Visigothic  Kings. 


63 


,he  venerable  capital  of  the  Pe-sula    -^^^^^^^ 
the  whole  country  except  the  extreme  no^th-wes^ 
%ut  out  of  th.s  extreme  corner,  and    rem   h^    un^^^^ 
ampled    amalgamation    of    ^aces --^C^^^^^^^^^^^ 

mans,  Goths,  and  ^-^-J^^^^^^  beautiful  light 

splendid  feudal  empire,  illustrated  by 

of  Christian  chivalry  and  ^-^^^'-''}' l^"' ""'"^^^^   Z 
ognition  of  municipal  rights,  co-tUutic..al  hberty, 
p^wer  of  faith,  and  the  power  of  discovery. 


Chronological  Table  of 


Athanaric, 
Alarlc  I., 
Athaulf, 
Sigric, 
Wallia, 
Theoderic  I., 
Thorismund, 
Theoderic  II., 

Euric, 

Alaric  II., 
^  Gesalic, 
(  Am  alaric, 

Theudis, 

Theudigisel 

Agila 
Athanagild, 

(  Leova  I., 
(  Leovigild, 


366(?H8i* 
395-410 

410-415 

4i5-4i5t 

415-419 

4^9-451 

451-453 
453-466 

466-485 
485-507 
507-511 
507-531 
531-548 

548-549 
549-554 
554-567 
567-572 
567-586 


the  Visigothic  Kings. 

Recared  I., 
Leova  II., 
Witteric, 
Gunthimar, 

Sisibut, 
Recared  II., 
Swintila, 
Rikimir, 

\  Sisinant, 

1  Kindila, 

Tulga, 
(  Kindaswint, 

1  Rekiswint, 

Wamba, 

Ervvic, 

(  Egica, 

1  Witica, 
Roderic, 


586-601 
601-603 
603-610 
610-612 
612-620 
620-621 
620-631 
?-63i 
631-636 
636-640 
640-641 
641-652 
649-672 
672-680 
680-687 
687-701 
697-710 
7 10-7 1 1 


*  Frithigern? 


t  September. 


Aiiai 


CHAPTER   III. 


THE    BERBER    CONQUEST    AND    THE    KHALfFATE. 


;,  ; 


if 

I: 


I 


WITH  the  great  victory  of  Xeres  de  la  frontera, 
in  711,  tlie  history  of  Spain  changes  as  by  a 
stroke  of  enchantment.  Hitlierto  the  polislied  tyranny 
of  the  Caisars,  and  the  rugged  autocracy  of  the  Visi- 
goths, swarming  with  classic  reminiscences  and  uncouth 
names,  have  employed  our  attention.  Now  the  fabric 
of  three  hundred  years  —  the  laborious  despotism  of 
the  followers  of  Alaric  —  vanishes  like  a  dream. 

The  conquest  of  Spain  was  due  to  the  Berbers,  not 
to  the  Arabs.  The  Berbers,  while  having  many  peculi- 
arities in  common  with  the  Arabs,  were  in  other  re- 
spects very  different  from  them.  A  heterogeneous  mass, 
peopling  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  from  Egypt 
to  the  Atlantic  ocean,  they  were  a  fierce,  warlike,  lib- 
erty-loving race,  deeply  stained  with  fanaticism  of  an 
eccentric  sort.  Nomadic,  homeless  Bohemians  in  their 
habits,  accustomed  to  an  immemorial  independence 
which  the  Roman  arms  had  but  faintly  infringed,  hav- 
ing the  same  political  organization  as  the  Arabs — a 
"  democracy  tempered  by  the  influence  of  noble  families  " 
—  they  became  as  terrible  adversaries  to  the  Arabs  of  the 
West,  when  the  latter  attempted  to  reduce  them,  as  the 
Arabs  of  the  East  had  become  to  the  Byzantine  empire 
and  Persia.    "  To  conquer  Africa,  is  impossible,"  wrote 


n 


Arabs  and  Berbers  Compared. 


57 


a  governor  to  the  Khalif  Abdelmelic  ;  "  scarcely  is  one 
Berber  tribe  conquered,  when  another  takes  its  place." 
With  unequalled  obstinacy  and  admirable  courage, 
however,  the  Arabs  persisted  in  their  purpose  to  over- 
run the  Berber  country,  and  after  seventy  years  of 
murderous  conflict,  they  succeeded,  though  on  condi- 
tion that  the  Berbers  should  be  treated  not  as  a  van- 
quished nation,  but  as  equals. 

The  sceptical  and  accomplished  Arabs,  too,  were  to 
the    earnest   and    gloomy   Berbers    as   the    cultivated 
aristocracy  of  Rome  had  been  to  the  uncivilized  Visigoths. 
The  Arab  princes,  passionately  devoted  to  poetry,  to 
women,  to  wine,  to  spiritual  and  sprightly  conversation, 
did  not  disdain,  now  and  then,  to  put  up  the  Koran  as  a 
target,  and  speed  their  sacrilegious  arrows  through  the 
precious  volume.     The  Berber  chieftains,  on   the  other 
hand,  profoundly  imbued  by  non-conformist  missionaries 
with  the  spirit  of  Mahometanism,  followed  their  priests 
with  blind  veneration,  became  immersed  in  grovelUng 
superstitions,  paid  to  their  maml?oune^cheYs  a  devotion 
unknown  to  the  railing  and  disillusioned  Arabs,  and,  as 
has  been  well   said,  accomplished  great  things  — the 
foundation  of  the  vast  empires  of  the  Almoravides  and 
Almohades  —  when  set  in  motion  by  a  priest. 

Islamism,  originally  hateful  to  the  Berber  race,  had 
become,  a  hundred  years  after  the  death  of  its  famous 
apostle,  their  most  precious  possession.  To  theni  it 
was  no  icy  religion,  half  frozen  between  deism  and  infi- 
delity, preached  by  unimpassioned  missionaries,  "  telling 
them  what  they  owed  the  khalif,  but  never  what  the 
khalif  owed  them."  It  was  the  enthusiastic  faith  preached 
by  bold  and  persuasive  dissenters  from  orthodox  Ma-^ 


* 


58        The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khalifate. 

hometanism  who,  tracked  like  wild  beasts  in  the  Orient, 
had  escaped  their  persecutors  through  a  thousand  dan- 
gers found  an  asylum  in  the  glowing  deserts  of  Africa, 
and' propagated  their  doctrines  with  brilliant  success 
along  the  line  of  the  conquests  of  Belisarius.     "  Mus- 
sulman Calvinism  had  at  length  found  its  Scotland." 
The  irreligious  Arab  spirit,  viewing  all  things  lightl> 
from  the  point  of  view  of  pleasurable  sensation  or  cyn- 
ical indifference,  looked  either  with  contempt  or  horror 
on  these  uncompromising  sectaries ;  now  treating  them 
with  condescending  tolerance,  now  contemplating  them 
with  undisguised  disgust.     Such  were  the  future  con- 
querors of  Spain. 

The  situation  of  the  peninsula  was  indeed  deplorable 
enough,  and  the    date  of  the  misery  lay   far  back    in 
Roman  times.     Immense  territorial  possessions  in  the 
hands  of  a  few  ;  multitudes  of  ruined  burghers,  serfs, 
and  slaves  ;  enormous  taxation  crushing  out  the  life  of 
the  poor,  and  filling  the  pockets  of  the  rich  ;  honorary 
titles  and  magistracies  innumerable,  to  which  no  definite 
duties  were  attached  ;  uncurbed  luxury  disporting  itself, 
at  the  expense  of  the  people,   in  gorgeous  villas  that 
overhung  beautiful  rivers,  shrouded  in  olives  and  vines, 
hung  with  Syrian   and  Persian  tapestries,   encumbered 
by  slaves,  filled  with  guests   stretched  out  on   purple 
rugs,  who  improvised  verses,   listened  to  musicians,  or 
looked   at   dancing  women ;  a  starving   plebs    covered 
with  rags  and  swarming  with  vermin  ;  throngs  of  pau- 
pers kept  alive  by  charitable  contributions,  and  rendered 
unspeakably  ignoble  by  gloating  over  gross  and  barba- 
rous spectacles  ;  the  petty  proprietors  in  the  towns  re- 
duced  to   profound   distress   by  the   exactions  of    the 


A  Tempest  of  Barbarians, 


69 


Roman  fiscal  system ;  bankrupt  communities ;  forests 
thronged  with  fugitives  from  justice;  such  was  the  con- 
dition of  things  even  under  the  Caesars.  A  single 
Christian  in  Gaul  owned  five  thousand  slaves,  another 
ei-ht  thousand ;  and  these  slaves  were  treated  with 
sudi  ri-or,  that  a  case  is  mentioned  in  which  three  hun- 
dred lashes  were  given  because  one  of  their  class  had 
failed  to  bring  his  lord  his  warm  water  punctually. 
Brigandage  springing  from  this  source,  even  in  the  time 
of  Diocletian,  had  assumed  such  proportions  m  the 
Gauls,  that  an  army  commanded  by  a  Caesar  had  to  be 

sent  to  crush  it. 

It  hardly  required  a  tempest  of  barbarians  to  over- 
throw, as  by  a  breath,  a  society  honeycombed  by  such 
evils  as  these.     Spain  lay  paralyzed  before  the  Suevi, 
the  Alans,  the  Vandals,  and  the  Visigoths.     The  ap- 
proach of  the  barbarians,  instead  of  being  signalized 
by  desperate  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Peninsula, 
was  viewed  with  a  serenity  that  seemed  imperturbable. 
Nothing  could  be  worse  than  Roman  tyranny ;  hence, 
while  the  sombre  invaders  were  knocking  at  the  gates  of 
the  Spanish  cities,  we  are  told  that  the  inhabitants,  far 
from  rivaling  the  memories  of  Saguntum  and  Numantia, 
gave  themselves  up  to  drunkenness,  gluttony,  singmg, 
dancing— threw  themselves  into  the  arms  of  beautiful 
slaves, ''or  rushed  to  the  amphitheatres,  where  they  might 
glut  their  sanguinary  appetites  on  the  agonies  of  gladi- 
ators     The  Vandtils  happily  passed  into  Africa  (429), 
but  the  Suevi  and  the  Visigoths  planted  themselves  in 
the  land  for  three  centuries,  and  made  the  people  look 
back  with  regret  to  the  tyranny  of  Rome,  insupportable 
as  that  had  been. 


Li  «t 

1 

" 

i 

Iki 

60       TTie  Berber  Conquest  and  the  KhaVifate, 

• 
During  this  dark   period,  the  light  of  learning  and 
piety  was  kept  ablaze  by  the  clergy.     In  the  end,  many 
preferred  to  be  penniless  and  free  under  the  domniion 
of  the  Goths,  to  being  wealthy  and  pillaged  under  the 
dominion  of  Rome.     Kings  praying  before  the  battle 
in  hair  shirts ;  victories,  recognized  as  coming  straight 
from  the  hand  of  the   Eternal,  succeeded  to  the  order 
and  civilization,  the  scepticism  and  luxury  of  the  earlier 
and  more  enlightened  pagan  time.     The  condition  of 
the  serfs  had  been  viewed  with  tender  solicitude  by  the 
Catholic  clergy  before  their  advent  to  power  under  Re- 
cared,  and  they  had  been  promised  emancipation ;  but 
the   povertv,    scorn,    oppression,   persecution,    did   not 
cease   when   the    clerg)'   rose    to    influence,    and   their 
promise  was  forgotten.     The  middle  class  remained  as 
it  had  been,  unameliorated,   unaided,  bankrupt.     The 
persecutions  of  the  Jews  broke  out  under  Sisibut  in  6i6 
and  eighty  years  of  suffering  were  borne  in  silence,  till, 
seventeen  years  before  the  invasion  of  Spain  by  the 
Berbers,  they  resolved  upon  a  general   rising  with  the 
help  of  their  co-religionaries  in  Africa,  where  several 
Berber  tribes  professed  Judaism,  and  many  exiled  Jews 
had  found  a  refuge.     The    plot  was  discovered,  and 
from  a  religious  persecution  of  misbelievers  the  policy 
of  the  government  changed  in  an  instant  to  one  of  ex- 
tirpation of  dangerous  conspirators.     Consequently,  at 
the   moment   of   the    Mussulman    conquest   of    north- 
western Africa,  the  Jews  were  groaning  under  a  savage 
yoke.     They  prayed  for  the  hour  of  deliverance ;  they 
welcomed  conquerors,  who,  for  a  small  tribute,  would 
restore  them  to  liberty  and  permit  them  the  free  exer- 
cise of  their  cult. 


Count  Julian, 


61 


The   Jews,  serfs,  and   poverty-stricken   burghers   of 
Spain  had  thus  become  transformed  into  so  many  im- 
pfacable   enemies  of   a   social   condition    leprous  with 
every  imaginable  disease,  and  crumbling  to  pieces  with 
inner  rottenness.     And  yet  slaves  and  Jews  were  all 
the  wealthier  classes  had  to  oppose  to  the  Berber  in- 
vaders     Both  Romans  and  Goths  had  been  obliged  to 
call  th^  agricultural  laborers  to  arms,  and  the  army  had 
o  be  recniited  largely  from  them.     From  a  tenth  of 
their  serfs,  the  proprietors  seem  to  have  been  obli^^^^^^ 
to  enroll  fully  one  half  for  military  service,  so  that  the 
number  of  servile  soldiers  in  the  army  must  have  sur- 
;Lsed  the  number  of  free  men.     Hence  the  defence  of 
S.e  state  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  those  most  hostile 
o  it     What  could  be  expected  of  a  horde  of  circum- 
cised  pessimists  and  mutinous  chattels  in  a  conflict  for 
he  ve?y  life  or  death  of  the  State  ?     The  germs  o    dis- 
solution  being  thus  contained  in  the  system  itself,  all 
itrrs  neceU  to  overthrow  it  ^or.,^.^,^2r 
army  of  twelve  thousand  men  under  a  ^^P^ble  leader 

The  limits  of  the  Arabian  empire,  under  the  Khalif 
wlJ  tl  been  extended  by  Mousa-ibn-No,a^^^^^^^ 
general  in  Africa,  to  the  Atlantic  ocean.  The  city  ot 
Ceuta  a^^^^^^  opposite  Gibraltar,  and  held  for  the  By^ 
^ante  empire  by  Julian,  its  governor,  now  remained  of 
all  Belisarius's  conquests  along  the  coast. 

Th  egend  is,  that  Count  Julian  had  sent  his  daugh- 
ter to  the  court  of  Toledo,  to  be  educated  in  accord- 
See  with  her  birth.     But  she  was  dishonored  by  Ro  ^ 

eric;  whereupon  Julian,  -^S^^' ^^f  "f^^^^^ 

with  Mousa,  opened  the  gates  of  Ceuta  to  the  Arabj 

r^oke   eloquently   of  the   beauty   and   fascmations   of 


I 


62        The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khalifat^. 

Spain,  engaged  him  to  attempt  the  conquest  of  the 
country,  and  placed  vessels  at  his  disposal  to  cross  to 
the  Spanish  coast. 

"  Let  Spain  be  explored  by  light  troops,  but  for  the 
present  guard  against  exposing  a  great  army  to  the 
perils  of  an  expedition  beyond  the  sea,"  replied  the 
Khalif  Walid  to  Mousa,  in  response  to  an  inquiry-  for 
instructions. 

A  preliminary  exploring  party,  therefore,  crossed  to 
Algeziras,  the  "green  isle,"  (710)  under  Tarif,  reconnoi- 
tred and  pillaged  the  country,  and  then  returned. 

The  following  year,  Roderic  being  away  in  the  North, 
quelling  an  insurrection  of  the  Basques,  Taric-ibn-Ziyad, 
one  of  Mousa's  clients  and  the  general  of  the  vanguard, 
was  sent  over  with  seven  thousand  Mussulmans,  nearly 
all  Berbers,  accompanied  by  Julian.  The  army  assem- 
bled upon  the  mountain  which  still  bears  Taric's  name, 
Gibraltar  (Gebal-Taric),  but  learning  that  Roderic,  at 
the  head  of  a  vast  army,  from  forty  thousand  to  one 
hundred  thousand,  was  advancing  against  him,  he  sent 
for  an  additional  force  of  live  thousand  Berbers. 

Treason,  however,  was  the  most  potent  ally  of  the 
invaders.  Though  no  hereditar>^  succession  existed  in  the 
Visigothic  monarchy,  the  legend  reports  that  Roderic, 
supported  by  many  grandees,  had  dethroned  Witica 
(Witiza)  his  predecessor,  and  thus  "  deprived  "  the  sons 
and  brothers  of  the  late  king  of  their  "  right "  to  the 
succession. 

Menaced  by  the  approach  of  Taric,  Roderic  sum- 
moned them  to  his  assistance,  having  previously  tried  in 
every  way  to  appease  their  resentment.  They  obeyed 
his  commands,  but  formed  the  project  of  delivering  him 


A  Fantastic  Theatre-Figure, 


63 


into  the  hands  of  the  enemy ;  not  that  they  thought  of 
delivering  their  fatherland  into  barbarian  hands,  for  it 
was  believed  that  the  Berbers  had  only  come  on  a  tem- 
porary raid,  —  which  was  the  truth,  —  and  not  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  their  dominion  permanently  in 
the  land ;  and,  moreover,  it  was  thought  that  when  vic- 
torious and  loaded  with  plunder,  they  would  return  to 
Africa,  leaving  the  land  to  the  conspirators.  A  short- 
sighted and  fatal  egotism  thus  blinded  them  to  the  con- 
sequences of  their  treachery,  and  laid  the  foundations 
of  seven  hundred  years  of  Saracenic  rule. 

The  plan  was  executed  ;  the  brothers  passed  over  to 
the  enemy.  Roderic  (in  the  legend)  appears  like  a  ver- 
itable king  of  melodrama,  in  a  chariot  of  ivory,  with  a 
crown  sparkling  with  jewels,  —  a  fantastic  theatre-figure, 
fluttering  in  purple  raiment :  he  is  slain  by  Tiric :  he 
vanishes  mysteriously,  and  all  that  remains  of  him  is 
his  white  charger,  who  is  found  sunk  in  the  mire  of  the 
river-sedge,  while  upon  the  horse's  back  flashed  a  sad- 
dle of  gold,  radiant  with  precious  stones. 

Taric  had  previously,  say  the  Arabian  chroniclers, 
skilfully  played  upon  the  imaginations  of  the  impres- 
sionable Berbers,  by  telling  them  of  a  vision  he  had  had 
on  the  sea,  as  they  were  coming ;  how  the  prophet  and 
the  four  Khalifs  had  appeared  to  him  in  a  dream,  pre- 
dicted victory,  and  commanded  him  to  treat  the  Mussul- 
mans with  gentleness.  Like  Cortes,  he  is  said  to  have 
burnt  his  ships  that  there  might  be  no  return,  and  his 
progress  through  the  land  is  accompanied  by  graceful  and 
impressive  visions  of  the  supernatural. 

Rendered  thus  invincible  by  a  consciousness  of  the 
favor  of  Heaven,  Tdric  forgot  his  orders,  did  not  re- 


64       The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khalifate. 

turn  to  Africa  as  Mousa  had  commanded  him,  and  has- 
tened like  a  true  general  to  take  advantage  of  his  vic- 
tory. '  .-in 
Roderic's  defeat  and  death  at  once  precipitated   all 

the    loose   and  disorganized  elements  in  the  kingdom 
into   cr>'stallization  round    the    invaders.     "The    serfs 
would  not  stir  for  fear  they  might  save  their  masters 
with  them ;"  the  Jews  sprang  to  arms,  and  hurried  into 
the    service  of  the  Mussulmans,  and  an  unspeakable 
confusion  prevailed  ever>^where.      Ecija,    Elvira,    Cor- 
dova, Toledo,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  invaders,  amid 
universal    dismay  of   prelate    and    patrician.     But  two 
courses   remained   for   the   vanquished:    salvation   by 
flight,  or  negotiation  with  the  victors.     The  prmces  of 
the  house  of  Witica  obtained  in  return  for  their  treachery, 
the  three  thousand  "  farms  ^'  belonging  to  the  crown  do- 
main, and  Witica's  son  was  named  governor  of  Toledo. 
A  simple  raid  had  thus  become  a  splendid  conquest. 
"  God  had  filled  the  hearts  of  the  infidels  with  fear,"  in- 
deed, said  a  Mussulman  chronicler. 

Meanwhile,  Mousa  on  the  other  side  of  the  strait, 
foamed  with  indignation  and  disappointment:  that  Taric, 
his  lieutenant,  and  not  he  himself,  should  reap  all  this 
glory,  seemed  intolerable.  But,  happily,  something  still 
remained  to  be  done ;  Spain  was  not  all  conquered ; 
so  hurr)'ing  up  his  troops,  he  passed  the  strait  in  712, 
with  eighteen  thousand  Arabs,  took  Medina-Sidonia, 
besieged  and  took  the  great  city  of  Seville,  then  Me- 
rida  (713),  and  went  to  Toledo  to  join  Taric.  ^  "Why 
didst  thou  march  forward  without  my  permission  ?  I 
gave  thee  orders  only  to  make  a  foray  and  then  return 


The  Story  of  Mousa, 


65 


to  Africa !  "  cried  he,  applying  the  ignominious  whip  to 
Taric's  shoulders.  . 

The  story  of  Mousa  is  full  of  touching  legends  in- 
vented by  the  romancers  long  after  his  time.     Named 
by  Abdulaziz,  brother  of  the  Khalif,  governor  of  Africa ; 
a  Yemenite    of  illustrious   lineage,    the    conqueror   of 
Spain  •  he  returned  from  that  country  gorged  with  plun- 
der was  recalled  to  Syria  by  the  Khalif  W^lid,  was  ac- 
cused of  enormous  peculation,  stripped  of  his  ill-gotten 
gains,  and   even  condemned    to    death,  though  he  es- 
caped with  his  life  by  the  payment  of  an  immense  fine. 
The  rest  of  Spain  sank  under  the  Arabian  rule  with- 
out resistance,  with  the  exception  of  an  inconsiderable 
part  of  the  north  and  north-west.     Interest  urged  to  a 
speedy  submission,  for  in  this  way  advantageous  treaties 
could  be  made,  whilst  opposition  was  attended  by  death 

and  loss  of  property. 

The  Berber  conquest  cannot  be  characterized  as  a 
o-reat  calamity.     The  anarchy  of  its  commencement  was 
soon  succeeded  by  a  state  of  things  which  the  enervated 
population  hailed  with  complacency.     The  Arab  domi- 
nation was  more  tolerable  than  the  Gothic.     The  con- 
quered people   retained   their   own   laws    and  judges, 
counts  and  governors ;  their  agricultural  pursuits  were 
left  undisturbed;  the  serfs  were  obliged  to  till  the  land 
as  before,   and  to  pay  the  Mussulman  proprietor  one- 
fifth  of  the  produce,  while  the  state  serfs  paid  a  third  of 
the  produce  of  what  had  formerly  been  the  crown  lands; 
conquered  districts  and  possessions  appertaining  to  the 
church  or  to  fugitive  patricians,  were  divided  among  the 
conquerors  while  the  serfs  remained  on  them  ;  the  Chris- 
tian cultivators  paid  a  third  of  their  produce,  not  to  the 


{ ' 


QQ        The  Berber  Conquest  arid  the  Khalifate. 

state,  but  to  the  Arab  feudatories  who  had  been  en- 
feoffed with  a  part  of  the  state  domain ;  and  special 
cities,  like  Merida,  Lorca,  AUcante,  and  Orihuella,  ob- 
tained terms  of  the  most  honorable  kind.  In  general, 
the  Christians  retained  most  of  their  property,  were  per- 
mitted to  alienate  it  at  will,  — a  right  denied  them  under 
the  Visigoths,  —  and  paid  a  capitation  tax  until  they 
embraced  Islamism. 

To  the  previous  intolerance  of  the  Arian  and  Catho- 
lic clergy,  now  succeeded  the  mild  religious  sway  of  the 
Arabs.  ^  Nobody  was  outraged  for  his  religious  beliefs  ; 
the  government  did  not  care  that  the  Christians  should 
become  Mussulmans,—  the  treasur}'  lost  too  much  by  it ! 
—  and  the  new  authority  was  so  much  liked  by  all,  that 
Christian  revolts  became  rare ;  even  the  priesthood  be- 
came  reconciled.      Nobody   seemed   scandalized   that 
Egilona,  widow  of  Roderic,  should  marry  (?)  Abdulaziz, 
so'^n  of  Mousa.     The  conquest  was  looked  upon  as  a 
blessing  in  some  respects ;  it  was  followed  by  an  impor- 
tant social  revolution,  and  many  of  the  evils  under  which 
the  country   had  been   groaning  for   centuries,    disap- 
peared. 

The  power  of  the  privileged  classes  was,  if  not  an- 
nihilated, at  least  greatly  lessened  ;  petty  proprietorship 
sprang  up  on  an  extensive  scale,  out  of  the  confiscated 
lands  which  had  been  divided  among  great  numbers  of 
individuals ;  agriculture  flourished  happily  under  Ara- 
bian protection  ;  the  condition  of  the  servile  classes  was 
ameliorated  ;  Islamism  was  more  favorable  to  the  eman- 
cipation of  the  slaves  than  Christianity  had  been.  It 
was  a  command  of  Mahomet,  speaking  in  the  name  of 
God,    that  slaves  should  be  allowed  to  redeem  them- 


Religious  Tyranny. 


67 


selves  and  under  Mahometanism  it  was  a  meritorious 
act  to'  free  them.  The  conquest  furnished  both  the 
slaves  and  the  serfs  of  the  Christians  an  opportunity  of 
recovering  their  freedom.  Flight  to  the  property  of  a 
Mussulman,  and  the  utterance  there  of  the  magic  for- 
mula, "  There  is  but  one  God  and  Mahomet  is  his 
prophet !  "  rendered  the  runaway  slave  "  Allah's  freed- 

man.'*  .  .      , 

The   boundless  religious   tyranny   o£    the  Visigoth, 

seems  after  all,  only   to  have  produced  superficial  im- 
pressions.    Pagan  Spain  had  slipped  into  Catholicism 
with  an  easy-going  conscience.     Arian  Spam  threw  off 
the  mantle  of  heterodoxy  with  ready  universality  :  and 
vet  even  in  the  time  of  the  Arabs,  Paganism  and  Christ- 
ianity were  still  found  disputing  together,  and  Christian- 
ity in   many   localities,    merely   floated  upon   the   l.ps 
rather  than  dwelt  in  the  hearts  of  many  of  its   ollowers. 
Hence  it  is  hardly  strange  that  the  serfs  fell  into  the 
s„are  -  abjured   their   elementary  and   ill-understood 
Catholicism,  and  welcomed  Mahomet  both  as  spiritual 
guide  and  personal  liberator.      Many  patricians  did  the 

same.  ,  ^      „^ 

One  undoubted  evil  resulting  from  the  conquest,  was 
the  shameless  frivolity  with  which  the  Arabian  emirs 
and  sultans  named  the  bishops,  -  often  libertines,  Jews, 
Mussulmans,  steeped  in  debauchery, -to  the  vacancies 
in  the  episcopal  body.  Gradually,  too,  they  came  to  view 
the  treaties  which  had  been  made  with  less  rigor ;  a 
gentle  and  humane  domination  passed  by  degrees  into  an 
intolerable  despotism.  "  We  must  .at  the  Christians  ; 
and  our  descendants  must  eat  theirs,  as  long  as  Islamism 
lasts"       The   advice  of     the   Khalif    Omar,    became 


it  ^ 

:  ii 


i 


68       The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khali/ate. 

the  guiding  principle  of  the  conquerors  of  the  Peninsu- 
la  The  renegades^ those  who  had  abjured  their  relig- 
ion and  turned  Mahometans  -  stigmatized  as  "  concealed 
Christians,"  "sons  of  slaves,"  "the  adopted," -found 
themselves,  in  the  course  of  time,  in  a  lamentable  pre- 
dicament: they  had  lost  their  religious  nationality. 

Many  of  them,  despite  their  conventional  conversion, 
were  really  Christians,  but  they  could  no  longer  return 
to  Christianity  ;  the  barrier  of  an  inexorable  law  stood 
between  them  and  their  lost  faith.  Once  "  converted,"  a 
Christian  who  apostatized  suffered  death ;  and  even  his 
posterity  were  Mussulmans  in  spite  of  themselves ;  they 
suffered  for  the  error  of  their  forefathers. 

Their  social  position,  too,  was  infamous  ;  they  were  ex- 
cluded ordinarily,  from  remunerative  employment,  and 
from  all  participation  in  the  state  government ;  their 
conversion  was  discredited ;  they  were  all  blighted  with 

the  name  of  "  slave." 

It  stands  to  reason  that  they  could  not  resign  them- 
selves to  being  treated  in  this  fashion,  especially  as 
many  of  the  converts  were  among  the  wealthiest  and 
noblest  proprietors  of  the  country,  and,  as  a  whole, 
formed  a  majority  of  the  population.  The  constraint, 
the  disdain,  the  social  inferiority,  the  narrow  insolence 
of  their  oppressors,  converted  them  into  standing  rebels, 
and  from  time  to  time,  in  greater  or  in  less  numbers,  a 
mobilization  of  the  whole  renegade  population  against 
the  Mussulmans  —  a  seething  cauldron  of  rebellion  bub- 
bling for  a  hundred  and  fifty  years,  frequently  assisted 
by  the  Christians  —  took  place. 

It  was  only  towards  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century 
that  Abderaman  III.  succeeded  in  fusing  the  whole  mass, 


Irreconcilable  Elements. 


69 


—  Arab,  Spanish,  Berber,  —  into  a  really  united  nation, 
by  the  rigor  of  his  inflexible  administration. 

A  fleeting,  not  a  lingering  glance,  must  now  be  cast 
upon  the  internal  condition  of  Spain,  up  to  the  time 
of  the  establishment  of  the  independent  kingdom  of 
Cordova,  (about  755-63)  ^"der  Abderaman  I,  the 
founder  of  the  great  Omaiyade  dynasty  in  the  West. 

The  country  called  by  the  Arabs  "  Andalusia,"  was 
divided  up  into  five  provinces,  each  with  its  Wali  or 
governor,  the  chief  of  whom,  after  Ayub's  time,  lived 
in  Cordova,  from  whence  the  whole  country  was  governed. 
Each  fortified  town  had  its  alcaide,  or  commandant,  and 
cadi,  or  Moslem  judge. 

From  the  time  of  Mousa  to  the  time  of  the  landing 
of  Abderaman  I,  (755).  emirs,  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernors of  Africa  in  the  name  of  the  Khalif  of  the  East, 
succeeded  one  another  with  great  rapidity.     Though  the 
Berbers  had  conquered  the  country,  the  Arabs,  under 
Mousa,  took  immediate  possession  of  the  loveliest  parts 
of  it,    and  sent  their   allies,   to    starve  or  plunder,  into 
the    arid  plains  of  Estremadura,  La  Mancha,  Castile, 
and  the  North.     This,  together  with  the  arrival  of  the 
Syrians,    odious  to  the  Arabs  on  account  of  their  relig- 
ious differences,  brought  together  a  trinity  of  irrecon- 
cilable elements,  which,  added  to  the  Christian  moun- 
taineers of  the  Asturias,  the  renegades  throughout  the 
Peninsula,  and  the  Christian  population  within  the  Mus- 
sulman  jurisdiction,   evoked    a  confusion    and  conflict 
that  lasted  for  generations. 

The  Omaiyades  were  illustrious  nobles  of  Mecca, 
who,  after  giving  fifteen  khalifs  to  the  East,  had  suc- 
cumbed at  the  death  of  the  last  of  the  Oriental  line,  Mer- 
wan  II,  in  750.    The  Abbaside  dynasty,  descended  from 


f- 


70         The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khafifate, 

Abbas,  uncle  of  the  prophet,  likewise  a  family  of  the 
highest  rank,  had  usurped  the  throne,  and  endeavored 
to  exterminate  utterly  the  whole  race  of  its  predeces- 
sors. 

Abderaman,  a. tall,  vigorous,  valiant  youth,  of  noble 
mien  and  princely  accomplishments,  —  an  ideal  Omah 
yade  in  the  mingled  suavity  and  inflexibility  of  his  tem- 
per —  escaped  to  Spain,  mastered  the  situation  in  that 
faction-ridden  country  with  the  instinct  of  a  genuine 
man  of  genius,  and  throwing  off  his  allegiance  to  the 
Eastern  Khalifate,  assumed  independent  sovereignty. 
It  was  not  however,  till  929,  that  the  title  Khali/  and 
Commander  of  the  Faithful  —  hitherto  out  of  respect 
applied  to  him  of  Damascus  and  Bagdad  only  — was 
assumed.  Before  that  time.  Sultan,  emir,  or  sofi  of  the 
Khalif  was  the  title  of  the  sovereign  of  Spain. 

Prior  to  Abderaman's  reign,  the  only  event  of  memo- 
rable importance  that  had  signalized  the  Arabic  suprem- 
acy, was  the  great  defeat  at  Tours  in  France,  in  732,  at 
which  Charles  Martel  profoundly  humbled  the  Arabs, 
slew  their  general  Abderaman  and  put  an  end  forever 
to  all  permanent  Semitic  settlements  on  that  side  of  the 
Pyrenees.  The  moon  of  Islam  continued  to  flicker,  from 
time  to  time,  faintly  among  the  Frankish  principalities  in 
the  south  of  France,  till  the  year  793,  when  it  seems  to 
have  been  darkened  completely  by  *'  the  yonge  sonne  " 
of  Charlemagne. 

It  was  in  756  that  Abderaman  was  recognized  emir 
of  all  Spain.  Proscribed,  tossed  about  for  five  years 
amid  all  the  vicissitudes  of  an  adventurous  life,  wan- 
dering from  tribe  to  tribe  in  the  deserts  of  Africa,  he 
had  at  length,  with  the  help  of  his  Omaiyade  clients  be- 
come master  of  a  great  country.  But  his  seat  on  the  throne 


Uoncesvalles. 


Tl 


was  an  uneasy  one,  and  his  reign  of  thirty-two  years  was 
a  crladiatorial  wrestle,  now  with  the  Yemenite  sect,  to 
wh'om  he  had  owed  his  elevation,  now  with  the  Berbers, 
and  now  with  the  resdess  tribe  of  Fihrites.  Indefati- 
gably  active,  at  once  perfidious  and  astute,  generous 
and  implacable,  Abderaman  came  forth  victor  m  all  the 
wars  he  had  to  wage  with  his  subjects,  and  his  success 
commanded  even  the  admiration  of  his  enemies.  t 
was  in  his  days  that  the  famous  disaster,  so  musically 
recounted  in  the  Chanson  de  Roland,  occurred,  -the  de- 
feat of  Roncesvalles. 

Three  Arab  chiefs,  al-Aribi,  governor  of  Barcelona, 
Abderaman-ibn-habib,  the   Slav-^o  called  on  account 
of  his  tall  and  slender  figure,  his  flaxen  hair,  and  his 
blue  eyes,  which  recalled  the  type  of  that  race   several 
of  whom  were  then  living  in  Spain  -  and  Abou-  1-Aswad 
bore  such  hatred  to  Abderaman  for  the  wrongs  he  had 
done  them,  that  they  resolved   to  implore  the  hdP  oj 
Charlemagne  to  avenge  themselves  on  him.     1  he  world 
was  then  full  of  the  glory  of  the  exploits  of  this  con- 
queror.    The  conspirators  betook  themselves  to  Pader- 
Sorn,   and   proposed   an  alliance    against  the  emir  of 
Spain,  which  Charlemagne  did  not  hesitate  to  accept; 
a  coa  ition  more  formidable  than  any  that  had  yet  im- 
perilled   the    dominion   of   Abderaman.     Charlemagne 
crossed  the  Pyrenees  and  laid  siege  to  Saragossa  on 
findin  '  that  thl  inhabitants  refused  to  deliver  it  mto  his 
Sands  but  was  unexpectedly  recalled  to  the  banks  o 
he  Rnne  on  hearing  that  Wittekind,  the  dreaded  chief 
of  the  Saxons,  had  availed  himself  of  his  absence,  had 
r  turned  from  exile,  excited  insurrection,  and  was  now 
opp    ite     Cologne    with    his    rebellious    countrymen. 


ftia^SS^^i«^^p*£Smm«'W««»i»^*5******' 


/ 


72        The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khallfate, 

With  all  possible  speed,  Charlemagne  hastened  back 
over  the  Pyrenees  through  the  pass  of  Roncesvalles  : 
but  while  the  army  was  defiling  through  the  long  and 
narrow  gorge,  the  Basques,  who  were  bitter  foes  of  the 
Franks,  pounced  upon  the  rear-guard  of  Charlemagne's 
army,  encumbered  as  it  was  with  baggage,  hurled  the 
soldiers  down  into  the  valley,  slew  them  to  a  man,  — 
even  Roland,  commander  of  the  frontier  of  Brittany,  — 
plundered  the  baggage  train,  and  then  vanished  into 
the  night  as  tracelessly  as  they  had  come. 

Eventually  Abderaman  came  to  be  execrated  by  Arabs 
and  Berbers  alike  ;  he  quarrelled  with    his   followers, 
and  was  betrayed  by  his  kinsmen.     His  solitary  walks 
through  the  streets  of  Cordova  among  his  people  were 
interrupted;    isolated,    gloomy,    and    inaccessible,    he 
rarely  left  his  palace  unless  surrounded  by  a  numerous 
guard.    A  standing  army  of  forty  thousand  mercenaries 
was  established,  blindly  devoted  to  his  person  ;  and  he 
employed  them  pitilessly  in  breaking  the  backbone  of 
the  Arabs  and  Berbers,  teaching  them  obedience,  and 
compelling  them  to  contract  habits  of  peace  and  order. 
His   course  was   in  exact  parallelism  with  that   of  the 
kings  of  the  fifteenth  century  in  their  efforts  to  triumph 
over  feudalism.     A  "  despotism  of  the  sword  "  had  thus 
been  initiated,  which  was  only  too  conscientiously  imi- 
tated by  his  successors.     But  these  people  were  other- 
wise ungovernable.     Instinct  and  recollection  equally 
called  their  inharmonious  tribes  to  independence   and 
the  formation  of  so  many  republics ;  a  monarchical  gov- 
ernment was  contrary  to  their  nature,  and  self-govern- 
ment was  impossible. 

The  eight  years  of  the  reign  of  his  son  and  successor, 


A  Cultivated  Voluptuary, 


73 


Hicham  (788-796)  were  specially  colored   by  the  rise 
and  spread  of  a  new  school  of  Mahometan  theology, 
held  in  great  veneration  by  the  Sultan :  the  school  of 
Malic,  founder  of   one  of  the  four  orthodox   sects  of 
Islamism.     Hicham's  victories  over  his  rebellious  broth- 
ers, Solaiman  and  Abdallah,  and  over  his  Frankish  ene- 
mies (793) ;  his  mildness  and  munificence  ;   his  pious 
enthusiasm  in  the  building  of  the  great  mosque  of  Cor- 
dova, begun  by  his  father  ;  his  love  of  science  and  suc- 
cess 'in  establishing  schools  of  learning,  in  which  even 
Christians  were  made  acquainted  with  the  riches  of  the 
Arabian  intellect ;  all  this  greatly  endeared  him  to  his 
people,  and  paved  the  way  to  their  giving  ready  alle- 
giance to  his  son,  Hacam. 

A  cultivated  voluptuary,  "richly  organized  to  enjoy 
life,"  bright,  joyous,    passionately  devoted  to  hunting 
and  wine-drinking,  Hacam  roused  the  insolent  ire  of  the 
faquis  of  the  new  school  of  theology,  by  refusing  to  per- 
mit them  so  great  an  influence  in  the  affairs  of  state  as 
they  wished.     They  calumniated  and    denounced  him, 
pelted  him  with  stones  through  their  renegade  agents 
who  swarmed  in  the  capital,  and  formed  a  treacherous 
league  to  dethrone  him.     Much  is  said  of  his  blooming 
youth,  the  brilliance  of  his  glance,  his  fine  form,  his 
careful  education,  and  the  energy  with  which  he  curbed 
the  volatile    revolutionists    of   his  capital.     A   famous 
story,  too  characteristic  and  too  illustrative  of  the  spirit 
of  the  times,  to  be  omitted,  is  told  of  his  procedure 
against  the  rebels  of  Toledo.     His  fifteen-year  old  son, 
Abderaman,  gained   admittance   to  the   castle,  caused 
elaborate  preparations  lor  a  feast  to  be  made,  and  had 
invitations  sent  to  from  seven  hundred  to  five  thousand 


74       The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khalifate. 

(accounts  are  conflicting)  of  the  principal  inhabitants 
of  the  place.  The  guests,  arriving  one  by  one,  were 
admitted  and  led  to  a  fosse,  where  their  heads,  for  a 
series  of  horrible  hours,  were  struck  off  one  after  the 
other.  The  people,  noticing  the  disappearance  of  the 
guests  and  their  failure  to  return,  thought  they  must 
have  sallied  forth  by  another  door.  "  It  is  strange  !  " 
said  a  physician,  "  I  have  been  at  the  other  door,  and  I 
waited  there  some  time,  but  I  saw  nobody  come  out." 
Then,  noticing  attentively  vapor  rising  above  the  walls, 
"Wretched  creatures!"  cried  he,  "that  is  not  the 
smoke  of  a  feast  they  are  preparing  ;  it  is  the  blood  of 
our  slain  brethren  !  " 

Wearied  with  perpetual  conspiracies  and  revolutions, 
Hacam,   like  his  grandfather,  shut  himself   up  in  his 
palace,  wasted  his   youth  in  unworthy  voluptuousness 
and  drink,  and  became  such  a  monster  of  cruelty  that  he 
caused  a  populous  suburb  of   Cordova   to   be    set   in 
flames,  forced  thousands  to  go   into   exile  to  Fez  and 
Alexandria,  and  in  his  old  age,  expiated  his  guilt  by 
profound  melancholy  and  madness.     Music  and  verse 
alone  gave  him  any  solace.    He  surrounded  himself  with 
mamelukes,  who  were  called  miUes  because  they  were 
neo-roes  or  slaves  who  could  not  speak  Arabic.     These 
terrible  and  inexorable  fiends,  unable  even  to  under- 
stand the  prayer  of  their  victims,  throttled  the  Cordo- 
vans by  hundreds  at  the  moment  of  the  burning  of  the 

suburb. 

A  true  Arab,  Hacam  sovereignly  hated  the  people  of 
the  country,  whereas,  towards  those  of  his  own  caste  he 
was  disgracefully  partial.  His  death  in  822,  rid  the 
land  of  an  Arabian  Caligula. 


♦  I 


». 

1 


CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  BERBER  CONQUEST  AND  THE  KHALIFATE. 

f  CONTINUED.] 

Abderaman  II.  one  of  Hacam's  forty  sons,  and  his 
successor,  made  the  court  of  the  sultans  of  Spain  more 
brilliant  than  it  had  ever  been.     He  rivalled  the  sump- 
tuousness  and  prodigality  of  the  Khalifs  of   Bagdad, 
embellished   the    capital,    built  mosques,  bridges,  and 
palaces  at  vast  expense,   and   constructed  magnificent 
gardens  which  were  irrigated  by  the  mountain  streams 
of  the  vicinity.     A  poet  himself,  like  so  many  of  these 
accomplished    princes,    he    recompensed  other   poets 
munificently  :  gentle  and  affable,  he  did  not  even  punish 
the  thefts  he  saw  committed  in  his  palace  with  his  own 
eyes ;  and  he  is  celebrated  for  the  quadruple  tyranny 
exercised  over  him  by  a  /a^ui,  a  musician,  a  woman, 

and  an  eunuch. 

The  fa^ui  was  the  Berber  Tahya,  a  fierce,  impetuous, 
and  bitter-tempered  fanatic,  who  had  instigated  the  St. 
Bartholomew  of  the  suburb.  He  was  revered  by  the 
monarch,  who  had  delivered  up  to  him  the  government 
of  the  church  and  the  superintendence  of  the  depart- 
ment of  justice. 

Ziryab,  the  charming  Eastern  musician  from  Bagdad, 
who  had  enchanted  the  ear  of  Haroun-ar-Rachid,  who 


»l 


76        The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khalifate. 

heard  the  genies  singing  in  his  sleep  —  an  inimitable 
improvisatore  and  connoisseur  in  all  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences of  the  day,  even  astronomy  and  geography  ;  who 
knew  10,000  songs  by  heart,  and  whose  sparkling  con- 
versation, grace,  and  elegance  were  the  talk  of  his  time, 
the  model  of  Arabian  "  bon  ton,"  supremely  distin- 
guished in  manners  and  knowledge  —  Ziryab  became 
the  social  legislator  of  Spain,  introduced  innumerable 
innovations  in  manners,  and  lived  in  the  completest  in- 
timacy —  signed  and  sealed  by  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  gold  pieces  in  gifts  and  pensions  —  with  his  master. 
The  long-haired  Mussulmans  with  the  hair  parted  in  the 
middle,  had  to  cut  their  raven  locks  short ;  golden  and 
silver  vases  and  linen  tablecloths,  gave  way  to  cr}'stal 
and  leather ;  the  various  array  of  the  season  was  pre- 
scribed by  this  dictator;  he  convinced  the  Arabian 
Spaniards  of  the  excellency  of  asparagus  ;  dishes  of 
many  curious  kinds  took  his  name,  and  the  celebrity  of 
the  graceful  Epicurean  lived  to  the  latest  Mussulman 
times,  side  by  side  with  that  of  illustrious  savants,  poets, 
generals,  ministers,  and  princes. 

The  Sultana  Taroub  and  the  Eunuch  Na9r  completed 
this  singular  quartette.  Taroub's  affections  were  fixed 
on  bags  of  silver  and  necklaces  of  fabulous  price. 
Nagr  was  a  cruel  and  pale-hearted  apostate,  of  Spanish 
birth,  who  ground  the  Christians  with  fiendish  gayety, 
and  reigned  supreme  with  his  mistress  within  the 
palace. 

Stubborn  insurrections  broke  out  in  Merida  and 
Toledo ;  in  843  the  coast  of  Spain  was  ravaged  by  the 
Norman  sea-robbers,  probably  for  the  first  time,  and  in 


CHARRO    OF    SALAMANCA. 


Ahderaman. 


79 


844  they  even  sailed   up  the  Guadalquivir  to  Seville, 
robbed,  burned,  plundered,  and  fled. 

An  extraordinary  drought  scourged  the  whole  land  in 
846  followed  by  countless  locusts,  a  famine,  and  great 
suffering ;  but  the  people  of  the  capital  at  least  were 
kept  qutet  by  being  employed  in  constructing  numbers 
of  fountains  and  marble  baths,  paving  the  streets,  rear- 
ing the  superb  palaces  of  Merwan  and  Moghais,  and 
bringing  the  mountain- water  to  Cordova  in  leaden 
pipes.  Bitter  religious  strifes  and  controversies,  precip- 
itated by  the  passion  of  the  Christians  for  martyrdom, 
and  embittered  by  the  intolerance  of  Tahyl,    raged  in 

the  capital. 

The  poet,  warrior,  general,  and  scholar,  Abderaman 
II.  died  in  852  in  the  odor  of  love  and  philanthropy. 
The  old  monarch,  according  to  Eulogius,  had  mounted 
to  the  terrace  of  his  palace,  when  his  eye  fell  on  the 
gibbets  to  which  were  dangling  the  mutilated  corpses  of 
the  last  Christian  martyrs ;  he  gave  orders  for  them  to 
be  burned,  but  scarcely  had  the  order  been  given  when 
an  attack  of  apoplexy  seized  him,  and  he  expired  in  the 

night. 

Mohammed,  one  of  his  forty-five  sons,  —  a  frigid  and 
heartless  egotist,  —  succeeded  him.  "  Descendant  of  the 
Khalifs,"  cried  his  favorite,  Hachim,  "how  beautiful 
would  this  world  be  if  there  were  no  death  !  "  "  What 
an  absurd  idea  !  "  replied  Mohammed  ;  "  If  there  were 
no  death,  should  /  be  reigning?  Death  is  a  good 
thing  ;  my  predecessor  is  dead,  that  is  why  I  reign  ! "  ^ 

This  prince  was  universally  scorned  and  hated  for  his 
niggardliness ;  he  even  cheated  the  employees  of  the 
treasury  out  of  two  pence  when  he  once  had  to  examine 


80 


The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khalifate, 


Seville, 


81 


an  account  running  up  to  one  hundred  thousand  gold 
pieces.  The  roads  became  infested  with  brigands,  so 
that  even  the  already  infrequent  communications  be- 
tween the  cities  had  to  be  kept  up  by  caravans  banded 
together  for  mutual  defence;  martyrdoms  increased, 
though  the  attitude  of  the  enlightened  Mahometans 
towards  these  misguided  fanatics  was  one  of  pity,  as 
towards  demoniacs  bereft  of  their  senses ;  the  Chris- 
tians and  renegades  of  the  mountains  of  Regio  raised 
a  formidable  revolt,  echoed  all  over  the  peninsula ;  the 
bright  almond  groves  and  cherry  orchards,  the  gardens 
of  citron,  pomegranate,  apples,  and  pears,  —  romantic 
Andalusia,  with  its  fields  filled  with  the  gold  of  wheat 
and  the  emerald  of  hemp,  threaded  by  the  silver  of 
innumerable  rivulets  cleaving  the  noble  mountains  and 
plains  of  Ronda  and  Malaga,  —  became  a  bloody  bat- 
tle-ground between  Saracen  and  Spaniard.  The  north 
was  free  and  in  league  against  the  Sultan. 

In  879  emeutes  and  insurrections  were  ablaze  in 
many  places,  especially  in  Regio.  ,The  Christians  of 
Galicia  and  Navarre,  the  Normans  in  sixty  ships  (866) 
destroying  lighthouses  and  mosques  along  the  coast; 
Alfonso  III.  of  the  Asturias  in  his  expeditions  ;  finally 
the  great  rebellion  of  Omar-ibn-Hafgoun,  shook  the 
kingdom  of  Cordova  to  its  foundations,  and  menaced  it 
with  total  overthrow.  In  a  short  time  Omar  ceased  to 
be  a  robber  chieftain  and  gathered  about  him  a  sort  of 
effulgence  as  chief  of  the  whole  discontented  Spanish 
population  of  the  South.  He  became  the  real  king  of 
Andalusia. 

Mohammed's  death  in  886  extended  Omar's  dominion, 
and  the  death  of  his  successor  and  son,  Mondhir  — 


said  to  be  one  of  a  hundred  sons,  —  slain  by  a  poisoned 
lancet  (888)  two  years  afterward,  brought  about  a  state 
of  things  perilous  in  the  extreme. 

His  brother  Abdallah— who  supremely  scorned  ''the 
people  that  rang  bells  and  adored  crosses  "  —  came  into 
possession  of  a  state  suffering  from  almost  fatal  debility. 
Already  it  seemed  on  the  point  of  ruin  and  decomposi- 
tion      Ibn-Hafgoun    and    his   insurgent  mountaineers 
were  but  a  part  of  the  evil ;  the  Arab  aristocracy  had 
begun  to  rise  and  assert  its  independence ;    a  power 
more  dreadful   to  the  monarchical  principle  than  the 
Spaniards  themselves.     Secret  apostacy  from  Mahomet- 
anism  had  gone  on  increasing  under  the  reigns  of  Ab- 
deraman  H.  and  Mohammed,  and  added  a  new  element 
of  danger ;  counterbalanced  to  some  extent  by  wholesale 
*'  conversion  "  in  various  parts  of  the  land.     There  was 
no  sympathy  between  the  Arabs  of  the  provinces,  mostly 
descended   from   the   soldiers   of   Damascus,    and   Ae 
"  vile  canaille  "  as  they  termed  both  Mussulman  and 
Christian    Spaniards.     The   first    Alhambra   became  a 
majestic  ruin  in  the  savage  combats  between  Sanwar 
and   the   allies   of    Ibn-HafQOun.     Seville,  the    seat  of 
Roman  science  and  civilization,  the  lamp  of  the  Visi- 
goths, the  glory  of  Spain,  surrounded  by  a  delightful 
circle   of  figs  and    olives    through  which   the    tranquil 
Guadalquivir   traced   a  line   of  inexhaustible   fertility, 
was  the  scene  of  an  abominable  massacre,  which  few  of 
its  Spanish  population  survived ;  and  we  are  told  that 
in  the  seignorial  manors  of  the  neighborhood,  the  im- 
provisatores  in  the  evenings  long  continued  to  celebrate 
in   solemn  chant   their  remembrances  of   this   sombre 
drama.     Bread   had  become   enormously   dear;   com- 


82        The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khalifate, 

merce  was  annihilated  ;  nobody  believed  in  the  future  ; 
discouragement  was  universal.  The  sultan,  seated  on 
a  throne  which  he  owed  to  a  fratricide,  had  found  it  a 
bed  of  thorns.  In  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign  (891), 
nearly  all  of  Mussulman  Spain  had  freed  itself  from 
his  sway;  every  Arab,  Berber,  or  Spanish  lord  had 
appropriated  for  himself  some  part  of  the  heritage  of 
the  Omaiyades ;  the  treasury  was  empty ;  Abdallah  was 
pusillanimous ;  Ibn-Haf^oun  was  intriguing  with  Bag- 
dad that  he  might  obtain  recognition  as  sultan  ;  and 
even  after  his  great  defeat  at  Polei  (891),  he  seemed 
invincible.  This  victory  and  the  reconciliation  of  the 
sultan  with  the  powerful  Sevillian  chieftain,  Ibn-Hadd- 
jadj,  previously  in  revolt,  proved  Abdallah's  salvation, 
and  were  the  beginning  of  a  re-establishment  of  the 
royal  power. 

Ibn-Haddjadj  was  a  singularly  interesting  type  of  the 
tributary  Arabian  prince.  Within  his  own  domain  his 
power  was  unlimited;  he  had  his  own  army;  he  named 
all  the  officials  of  Seville,  from  cadi  and  chief  of  police 
down  to  the  least  official ;  he  kept  up  royal  state ; 
maintained  an  aulic  council,  and  a  body-guard  of  five 
hundred  gentlemen ;  he  wore  a  mantle  of  brocade,  on 
which  his  names  and  titles  were  embroidered  in  letters 
of  gold,  and  while  unsparingly  severe  towards  malefac- 
tors, maintained  order  with  firmness.  A  prince  and  a 
merchant,  a  friend  of  art  and  literature,  he  "  received,  in 
the  same  vessels,  presents  from  distant  princes  and  tis- 
sues from  Egypt,  scholars  from  Arabia,  and  dancing- 
women  from  Bagdad."  The  poets  of  Spain  flocked  to 
his  court,  and  with  bitter  accent  contrasted  his  magnifi- 
cence with  the  meanness  of  Abdallah. 


Abderaman.  Ill 


83 


The  arms  of  the  sultan,  dating  from  this  victory  and 
his  reconciliation  with  Ibn-Haddjadj,  were  constantly 
victorious  in  the  south,  till  his  death  in  912. 

As  there  was  no  settled  succession  to  the  throne,  and 
as  it  was  the  custom  to  fill  a  vacancy  by  choosing  the 
eldest  son  or  the  ablest  relative  of  the  deceased  sultan, 
fears  were  entertained  that  the  numerous  uncles  and 
grand-uncles  might  dispute  the  succession  with  Abdera- 
man, grand-son  of  Abdallah  and  presumptive  heir. 
Abderaman  was  son  of  the  wretched  Mohammed,  who 
was  murdered  by  his  own  brother,  by  order  of  his 
father,  Abdallah. 

The  new  king,  however,  contrary  to  all  expectation, 
found  no  opposition  to  his  elevation,  and  mounted 
the  throne,  as  the  third  of  the  name,  amid  general  joy 
and   satisfaction.     Abdallah's    own    eleven    sons   were 

thus  excluded. 

A  great,  blue-eyed,  light-complexioned,  nobly-formed 
youth,  as  his  grandfather  had  been  in  his  younger  days, 
Abderaman  had  been  educated  with  particular  care  ;  he 
was  the  idol  of  his  grandfather's  old  age,  though  his 
own  frank  and  audacious  character  was  the  exact  oppo- 
site of  the  circumspect  and  tortuous  Abdallah's. 

To  a  period  of  profound  demoralization,  anarchy, 
and  civil  war,  now  succeeded,  under  his  commanding 
genius,  comparative  order  and  concord.  The  Arab  aris- 
tocracy had  lost  its  proudest  chieftains.  A  weaker 
generation,  to  whom  the  grievances,  pride,  passions, 
and  energy  of  the  preceding  were  unknown,  had  grown 
up.  Blazing  villages  and  ruined  plantations,  fantastic 
cruelties  of  brigands  nested  in  crenellated  towers  that 
kissed  the  clouds,  and   the  maintenance   of  a  conflict 


84       The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khali/ate, 

which,  from  national,  had  narrowed  into  a  mere  clash 
of  hostile  and  mutually  repugnant  faiths,  seemed  no 
longer  worth  admiring  or  worth  maintaining.  The  gates 
of  the  insurgent  cities  opened  as  by  magic,  before  the 
young  and  brilliant  monarch,  the  fame  of  whose  clem- 
ency and  intelligence,  soon  made  his  people  forget  the 
old  sultan,  —  the  monstrous  misanthrope  —  who  had  poi- 
soned two  of  his  own  brothers,  caused  a  third  to  be  ex- 
ecuted, and  slain  two  of  his  sons  on  simple  suspicions 
and  without  a  trial.  He  conducted  himself  with  the 
utmost  rectitude  towards  the  Christians  of  his  capital, 
His  great  antagonist,  the  Spanish  hero  Ibn-Haf^oun, 
after  thirty  years  of  warfare  against  the  invaders  of  his 
fatherland,  died  unconquered  in  917,  two  years  after  a 
horrible  famine  when  the  people  of  Cordova  died  of 
starvation  by  thousands. 

By  930,  Toledo,  which  had  maintained  its  independ- 
ence for  eighty  years,  alone  remained  to  be  taken,  to 
complete  Abderaman's  possession  of  the  heritage  of 
his  ancestors.  After  a  two  years'  siege,  it  fell ;  Arabs, 
Spaniards,  and  Berbers  bowed  the  knee  before  the 
power  of  the  crown ;  and  the  principle  of  unlimited 
monarchy  was  proclaimed  amid  universal  silence.  A 
period  of  "  administrative  despotism "  set  in ;  the 
ancient  traditions  of  the  people  —  their  reminiscences 
of  the  absolute  dominion  of  the  Romans  and  Visigoths 
—  were  rehabilitated ;  class  distinctions  tended  to  dis- 
appear; and  Abderaman  IH.  became  the  mighty  amal- 
gamator —  the  Oriental  magician  —  who  harmonized 
the  glaring  discords  of  creed  and  race  and  proved  him- 
self incontestably  the  greatest  of  the  Omaiyade  Arabian 
monarchs  of  Spain. 


^''  Everyhody   Clean, 


j> 


85 


In  fact,  Abderaman  had  accomplished  wonders  ;  an 
empire  delivered  up  to  the  anarchy  of  civil  war,  torn  by 
factions,  parcelled  out  among  a  throng  of  lords  of  vari- 
ous race,  exposed  to  the  continual  raids  of  the  Chris- 
tians of  the  north,  on  the  eve  of  being  swallowed  up  by 
the  people  of  Leon  or  the  Fatimide  fanatics  of  Africa, 
had  been  saved  both  from  itself  and  from  foreign  dom- 
ination, had  come  forth  greater  than  ever,  had  entered 
upon  a  period  of  prosperity  and  order,  respected  alike 
at  home  and  abroad.  The  treasury  was  overflowing ; 
millions  of  gold  pieces  filled  the  state  coffers  (951)  ;  and 
Abderaman  came  to  pass  for  one  of  the  richest  sover- 
eigns in  the  world.  Agriculture,  commerce,  arts,  sci- 
ences, industry,  a  w^onderful  system  of  irrigation  with 
its  co-ordinate  branches  and  industries,  flourished  as 
they  had  never  flourished  before.  A  vigilant  police 
made  every  spot  accessible  with  safety  ;  fruits  and  provi- 
sions were  astonishingly  low  ;  "  everybody  rode,  every- 
body was  clean,"  Such  is  the  account  of  an  Arabian 
traveller. 

Cordova  in  this  reign  numbered  five  hundred  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  three  thousand  mosques,  one  hundred 
and  thirteen  thousand  houses,  and  twenty-eight  suburbs  ; 
and  the  beauty  and  splendor  of  its  appearance  rivalled 
that  of  Bagdad  the  noble  capital  of  the  Abbasides.  It 
was  named  and  known  in  the  heart  of  Germany.  In  936, 
the  foundations  of  a  splendid  city,  bearing  the  name  of 
the  favorite  concubine,  Zahra,  were  laid  near  the  capital, 
to  be  paid  for  out  of  money  bequeathed  by  another  of 
the  Khalif's  women.  For  twenty-five  years,  ten  thou- 
sand workmen,  assisted  by  fourteen  hundred  sumpter- 
mules  and  four  hundred  camels,  did  everything  to  ren- 


86         The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khali/ate. 


der  it  an  incomparable  dwelling-place ;  a  premium  of 
four  hundred  dir/iems  was  promised  to  whomsoever  should 
settle  there  ;  the  palace  of  the  Khalif,  filled  with  the  mar- 
vels of  the  east  and  west,  rose  in  enormous  proportions 
for  the  maintenance  of  a  harem  of  six  thousand  women. 
An  admirable  navy  permitted  Abderaman  to  dispute 
with  the  Fatimides  the  supremacy  of  the  Mediterranean, 
and   guaranteed   to   him  the  possession  of  the  key  of 
Mauritania,  Ceuta.     A  numerous    and  well-disciplined 
army  gave   him  a  preponderance    over  the  discordant 
Christians  of  the  North.     The  emperor  of  Constanti- 
nople, the  kings  of  Germany,  Italy,  and  France,  sent 
ambassadors  to  his  court. 

So  many  glorious  results  give  evidence  of  a  quiet 
and  powerful  intelligence  which  nothing  escaped,  which 
united  delicacy  of  detail  with  sublimity  of  conception ; 
whose  power  of  sagacious  centralization  was  almost 
unlimited  ;  whose  steady  equipoise  amid  so  much  tu- 
mult, whose  broad  tolerance  in  calling  men  of  an  alien 
faith  to  its  councils,  were  equally  remarkable. 

His  son,  Hacam  II.,  who  assumed  the  sovereignty 
after  the  death  of  Abderaman,  was  an  accomplished 
savanf.  He  was  possessed  by  a  passion  for  rare 
and  precious  books.  Cairo,  Bagdad,  Damascus,  were 
ransacked  to  fill  his  libraries  ;  he  had  agents  every- 
where, copying  or  purchasing  for  him  ancient  and  mod- 
em books,  at  whatever  price.  His  palace  was  a  library 
and  a  workshop  in  which  copyists,  binders,  illuminators 
abounded.  The  catalogue  alone  consisted  of  forty-four 
volumes,  and  the  books,  according  to  some,  numbered 
four  hundred  thousand,  all  of  which  Hacam  was  said 
to  have  read  and  annotated.  !  His  authority  in  literary 


A  SERENAIA  AT  CORDuVA. 


86         The  Berber  Conquest  a7id  the  Khalifate, 


der  it  an  incomparable  dwelling-place ;  a  premium  of 
four  hundred  dirhems  was  promised  to  whomsoever  should 
settle  there  ;  the  palace  of  the  Khalif,  filled  with  the  mar- 
vels of  the  east  and  west,  rose  in  enormous  proportions 
for  the  maintenance  of  a  harem  of  six  thousand  women. 
An  admirable  navy  permitted  Abderaman  to  dispute 
with  the  Fatimidesthe  supremacy  of  the  Mediterranean, 
and   guaranteed   to   him  the  possession  of  the  key  of 
Mauritania,  Ceuta.     A  numerous    and  well-disciplined 
army  gave   him  a  preponderance    over  the  discordant 
Christians  of  the  North.     The  emperor  of  Constanti- 
nople, the  kings  of  Germany,  Italy,  and  France,  sent 
ambassadors  to  his  court. 

So  many  glorious  results  give  evidence  of  a  quiet 
and  powerful  intelligence  which  nothing  escaped,  which 
united  delicacy  of  detail  with  sublimity  of  conception ; 
whose  power  of  sagacious  centralization  was  almost 
unlimited  ;  whose  steady  equipoise  amid  so  much  tu- 
mult, whose  broad  tolerance  in  calling  men  of  an  alien 
faith  to  its  councils,  were  equally  remarkable. 

His  son,  Hacam  II.,  who  assumed  the  sovereignty 
after  the  death  of  Abderaman,  was  an  accompUshed 
savant.  He  was  possessed  by  a  passion  for  rare 
and  precious  books.  Cairo,  Bagdad,  Damascus,  were 
ransacked  to  fill  his  libraries  ;  he  had  agents  every- 
where, copying  or  purchasing  for  him  ancient  and  mod- 
ern books,  at  whatever  price.  His  palace  was  a  library 
and  a  workshop  in  which  copyists,  binders,  illuminators 
abounded.  The  catalogue  alone  consisted  of  forty-four 
volumes,  and  the  books,  according  to  some,  numbered 
four  hundred  thousand,  all  of  which  Hacam  was  said 
to  have  read  and  annotated.  1  His  authority  in  literary 


A  Literary  Monarch, 


89 


Vr 


if 


history  was  absolute  among  the  Andalusians,  and  Per- 
sian and  Syrian  authors  were  equally  known  to  him, 
even  long  before  any  one  else  had  seen  or  read  them. 
Under  his    auspices,  Abou-'l-Farad  prepared  his  mag- 
nificent  work   on   the  Arab   poets   and   singers.  ^  His 
court  was  the  focus  of  an  intense  intellectual  activity. 
Primary  schools  flourished  in  his  capital ;  nearly  every- 
body in  Andalusia  could  read  or  write,  when  persons 
even  of  the  highest  rank  elsewhere  in  Christian  Europe 
were   grossly   ignorant.     Grammar  and   rhetoric   were 
taught  in  the  schools  ;  Hacam  himself  founded  twenty- 
seven  schools  in  the  capital  for  poor  children,  who  re- 
ceived their  education  gratuitously.     The  great  univer- 
sity of  Cordova,  frequented  by  thousands  of  students 
had  a  world-wide  celebrity  and  a  host  of  distinguished 
teachers  discoursed  eloquently  in  the  great  mosque  - 
used  for  the  lectures -on  theology  and  jurisprudence, 
on   the   traditions   of   Mahometanism    and  the  poetry, 
proverbs,  and  language  of  the  Arabians. 

Hacam's  short  reign  of  fifteen  years  ended  unevent- 
fully in  976,  when  he  expired  in  the  arms  of  his  two 
chief  eunuchs  Fayic   and   Djaudhar,  leaving   one  son 

Hicham,  behind. 

The  remaining  years  of  this  century  (976-1002),  how- 
ever, are  occupied  not  with  Hicham,  but  with  his  cele- 
brated vizier,  Almansor,  the  great  adversary  of  the 
Christians,  the  desecrator  of  the  famous  mediaeval 
shrine  of  Compostella  in  Galicia,  the  destroyer  of  Pam- 
pelona,  Leon,  and  Barcelona ;  an  Arab  who  almost 
annihilated  Christianity  in  Spain,  humbled  the  pride  of 
the  servants  of  Christ,  and  scattered  the  treasures  of 
the  church,  accumulated  for  ages,  to  the  winds.     Of 


•A 


90        The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khalifate, 

his  death,  in  1002,  a  monk  chronicles  laconically: 
'*In  the  year  1002  died  Almanzor ;  he  was  buried  in 
hell  "  The  terror  of  his  enemies,  he  was  the  idol  of 
his  soldiers ;  even  the  horses,  says  an  Arabian  author, 
seemed  to  understand  their  duty ;  it  was  seldom  they 

were  heard  to  whinny. 

\lmansor  surpassed  even  Abderaman  in  power  ;  his 
spirit  was  luminously  practical,  and  delighted  in  projects 
for  the    amelioration   of   communications   through    the 
country,— bridge-building,    opening  of   highways,  and 
the  like.     His  justice  and  fortitude  —  where  his  ambi- 
tion was  not  concerned  —  were  proverbial.     During  a 
sitting  of  the  grand  council   on  one  occasion,  he  had 
his  fo^'ot  cauterized,  while  conversing  tranquilly  with  his 
associates,  who   perceived    the  operation  only  by  the 
odor   of    the   burning    flesh.     Political   considerations 
forced  Almansor  not  to  tolerate  philosophers,  though 
he  pensioned  poets  in  numbers.     A  superbly  handsome, 
ambitious,  and  gifted  student,  he  had  risen  by  the  favor 
of  the  Sultana  Aurora  to  the  highest  position,  and  from 
the  beginning,  absorbed  in  the  perusal  of  the  ancient 
chronicles  of  his  race,  he  foresaw,  with  the  divination  of 
crenius,  that  he  was  to  be  an  illustrious  successor  to  the 
heroes'  they  commemorated.     He  was  major-domo   of 
the  palace  at  the  time  of  Hacam's  death,  and  for  many 
years  retained  his  own  name  Abou-Amir  Mohammed, 
(Ibn-abi-Amir),  before  the  assumption  of   the   one   by 
which  he  is  generally  known  to  history.     He  became 
Hadjib,  or  prime  minister,  overawed  the  young  Khalif 
by  his  commanding  abilities,  and,  it  is  said,  caused  him 
to  decay  prematurely  by  encouraging  him  in  unbounded 
license. 


A  Wretched  Figure-Head, 


91 


Thus  Hicham  became  a  wretched  figure-head,  whose 
life  was  a  perpetual  torment  and  dread,  who  was  gor- 
o-eously  incarcerated  in  his  own  palace,  and  whose 
debauched  sensibilities  seemed  at  length  capable  of  no 
emotion  but  fear.  He  was  taken  to  the  grand  viUa-city 
of  Zahira,  newly  built  on  the  Guadalquivir,  where  he 
might  be  kept  from  influences  alien  to  Almansor's  intef- 
ests,  and  where  his  reading  of  the  Koran,  his  fasting, 
prayers,  and  debaucheries  might  be  uninterrupted.  At 
length  it  was  even  forbidden  to  pronounce  his  name. 

We   find  Almansor  reforming  the  military  organiza- 
tion, calling  in  hosts  of  Berbers,  and  enrolling  numbers  of 
impoverished  Castilians,  Navarrese,  and  Leonese,  whom 
he  treated  with  infinite  tact.     He  destroyed  the  ancient 
tribal    division   prevalent   among  his   countrymen;  at- 
tacked and  slew  his  father-in-law,  Ghalib  (981),  com- 
mander-in  chief  of  the  forces,  who  had  taken  up  arms 
in  defence  of  the  Khalif ;  was  victorious  on  every  side 
over  the  king  of  Navarre,  Garcia  Fernandez,  Count  of 
Castile,  and  Ramiro  HI.  of   Leon;  and   at   the   same 
time  assumed  one  of  those  surnames  previously  borne 
by  Khalifs    alone,    Almansor  biUah,  *'  aided  by  God, 
"victorious   by  the   help   of  God,"   by  which   he  was 
henceforth  known.     On  one  of  his  expeditions  against 
the  Christians,  in  985,  he  carried  forty  poets  to  chant 
his  victories,  and  returned  covered  with  the  glory  of 
having  burned  Barcelona. 

Insatiable  of  conquest,  he  darted  upon  the  Christian 
principalities  with  the  ferocity  of  a  tiger,  demolishing, 
plundering,  devastating  all  before  him.  Yet  he  did  not 
scorn  himself  to  ply  the  trowel,  saw,  or  pick-axe,  when 
he  began  to  extend  and  beautify  the  great  mosque  of 


92       The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khalifate. 

Cordova ;  and  did  things  so  nobly  and  grandly  that  he 
excited  raptures  in  his  contemporaries.  He  slew  his 
own  son,  the  brave  and  brilliant  Abdallah,  —  a  sparkling 
impersonation  of  Andalusian  gayety  and  Arabian  knight- 
hood,—  when  he  discovered    that   he  was   conspiring 

against  him. 

"  Never  has  an  unfortunate  implored  thy  pity  in 
vain,"  sang  a  poet  of  him  ;  "thy  bounties  and  thy  bene- 
fits are  innumerable  as  the  drops  of  rain."  Like  others 
of  his  race,  he  doubtless  had  his  slaves  with  their 
names  derived  from  jewels,  and  his  concubines,  who, 
Arabian-fashion,  delighted  in  the  names  of  men. 

Usurping  successively  the  titles  of  Saiyid  (lord)  and 
me/ic  cariin  (noble  king),   reigning  virtually  for  twenty 
years,  he  now  (996),   aspired  to  reign  actually.     The 
princes  of  the  blood  were  either  dead,  in  exile,  or  in 
misery;   his  army,  composed  of    a   mosaic  of  varying 
blood  and  kindred,  were  devoted  to  him ;  Hicham,  sur- 
rounded by  the  women  of  his  seraglio,  or  going  forth 
only  with  his  head  enveloped  in  a  huge  burnous,   was  a 
cipher.     Everything  seemed  favorable.     Yet  the  people 
loved  Hicham ;  they  hung  affectionately,  and  with  all 
the  inclining  conservatism  of  the  Arabian  nature,  to  the 
reigning  dynasty ;  and  despite  the  glor}-  and  prosperity 
which  he  had  brought  to  the  country,  they  murmured 
ominously   at   Almansor's    arrogance.     More    powerful 
and  implacable  than  all,  Aurora  —  his  Sultana-mistress, 
as  some  called  her  —  turned   against  him.     Alm'ansor 
could  not  be  Khalif  —  he  could  only  remain  the  invin- 
cible vizier  who  suspended  as  lamps  in  the  roof  of  the 
mosque  of  Cordova,  the  bells  taken  from  the  sanctuary 
of  St.  James  of  Compostella  (save  the  eternal  city,  the 


A  Superstitious  Monarch. 


93 


most  renowned  of  the  sanctuaries  of  the  tenth  century) ; 
who  overthrew  the  power  of  Zirri  in  Mauritania ;  and 
whose  last  act  almost  was  the  destruction  of  the  shnne 
of  St.    Emilian,  patron  saint  of  Castile. 

Suffering  with  an  excruciating  malady,  he  exclaimed, 
"  Twenty  thousand  soldiers  are  inscribed  upon  my  roll, 
but  there  is  not  one  among  them  so  miserable  as  I." 
Becoming   superstitious  in   his   old   age,   he    carefully 
shook  off  and  preserved  the  dust  from  the  clothes  which 
he  used  in  his  expeditions,  because  the  Koran  said  that 
God  will  preserve  from  fire  him  whose  feet  are  covered 
with  the  dust  of  the  holy  wars  ;  and  he  gave  directions 
that  he  should  be  covered  with  this  dust  at  his  death. 
His  fifty  campaigns  against  the  Christians  provided  him 
amply  with  the  sacred  talisman.     Worn  to  a  spectre  by 
suffering,  he  passed  away  in  August,  1002. 

Six  years  after  (1008),  Modhaffar  his  son,  who  ruled 
the  kingdom  as  his  father  had  done,  died  ;  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  brother  Abderaman,  hated  for  the  Span- 
ish blood  that  flowed  in  his  veins  — he  was  grandson  of 
the  count  of  Castile  or  the  king  of  Navarre- and  sus- 
pected of  having  poisoned  Modhaffer  by  offering  him  half 
of  an  apple  cut  with  a  knife  poisoned  on  one  side.  The 
unpoisoned  half  he  is  said  to  have  eaten  himself. 

The  desire  for  the  downfall  of  the  Amirides-the 
family  of  Almansor,  whose  representative  Abderaman 
was  now -became  universal,  and  the  more  intense^after 
Abderaman  had  prevailed  upon  the  imbecile  Hicham  to 
declare  him  heir  to  the  throne.  He  even  affected  the 
characteristic  coiffure  of  the  turban  which  in  Spain 
belonged  exclusively  to  the  lawyers  and  theologians ; 
an  outrage  against  religion  and  its  minister'^. 


} 


i 


94       The  Berher  Conquest  and  the  Khalifate, 

His  power  crumbled  at  a  touch ;  Mohammed,  great- 
grandson  of  Abderaman  III.,  headed  a  rebellion  which, 
in  twenty-four  hours,  annihilated  the  power  of  the  Ami- 
rides.  The  sumptuous  fairy-land  of  the  villa-city  of 
Zahira  was  set  on  fire  and  reduced  to  ashes,  after  mil- 
lions of  gold  and  silver  had  been  rifled  from  it.  Ab- 
deraman—  Sanchal  as  he  is  called  —  horribly  expiated 
his  crimes  by  indignities  of  every  sort.  "  Behold 
Sanchal  the  Lucky !  "  shrieked  a  public  crier,  pointing 
to  the  hideous  remains  of  the  usurper  nailed  to  a  cross 
near  the  palace  gate. 

A  period  of  anarchy  ensued. 

The  Berbers  and  Castilians  pillaged  Cordova  (1009) 
and  Mahdi  (Mohammed)  was  unable  to  lay  the 
demon  of  democracy  which  he  had  called  up  in  his 
efforts  to  ruin  Sanchal.  Lifted  to  the  throne  by  a  con- 
spiracy, while  Hicham  —  the  everlasting  Jew  of  these 
never-ending  revolutions  —  was  still  alive,  he  lay  sword- 
slain  at  Hicham's  feet  by  another  conspiracy  (10 10) 
instigated  by  the  Slavs  —  a  general  name  for  foreigners 
of  French,  German,  and  Spanish  nationality,  either 
captured  in  war  and  utilized  as  soldiers  and  eunuchs, 
or  sold  to  the  Saracens  by  the  trans-Pyreneean  powers 
who  had  captured  them  in  their  expeditions.  The 
Slavs,  who  ruled  in  several  provinces,  now  became  all 
powerful,  and  the  Mussulman  empire  in  their  hands,  a 
prey  to  civil  war,  went  gradually  to  pieces.  Cordova, 
thronged  with  thousands  of  workingmen,  filled  with 
inflammable  material  of  every  sort,  the  seat  of  an 
ancient  aristocracy  whose  power  had  now  passed  away, 
abounding  in  wild-haired  fanatics.  Christians  and  Jews 
side  by  side   with  whom  stood  crowds  of  sceptical  and 


Dissolution  of  the  Khalifate. 


95 


philosophic  Arabs,  who  believed  nothing  unless  it  could 
be  mathematically  proved— Cordova  gathered  as  in  a 
burning  glass  all  the  uneasy  intelligences  of  the  country, 
all  the  growling  discontent,  all  the  fantasts  and  dream- 
ers, who  longed  for  democracy  and  radiated  their  revo- 
lutionary  tendencies   from    its    khans   throughout   the 

peninsula. 

The  glorious  residence  of  Zahra,  whose  reputation 
was  European,  was  razed  to  the  ground ;  the  glorious 
library  of  Hacam  H.,  was  sold  to  fill  the  exhausted 
treasure-chests  of  the  state.  Massacres  at  Cordova  and 
elsewhere  (1013),  followed  in  the  train  of  the  Berbers 
whom  Abderaman  III.  and  Almansor  had  called  into 
the  land.  The  dissolution  of  the  Khalifate,  the  splen- 
did monument  of  a  hundred  years  of  lofty  civilization, 
conquest,  and  culture,  ushered  in  the  new  Khalif,  the 
Berber  Solaiman,  whose  sway  extended  to  five  cities 
(Cordova,  Seville,  Niebla,  Ocsonaba,  and  Beja)  alone, 
while  the  rest  became  independent  under  Slav  or  Ber- 
ber chieftains.  Whether  Hicham  II.  sdll  lived  or  not 
was  doubtful,  but  the  Slvas  continued  to  fight  in  his 
name.     The  women  of  his  palace  asserted  that  he  had 

escaped  to  Asia. 

Solaiman's  enjoyment  of  power  was  of  brief  dura- 
tion, for  he  was  assassinated  by  the  Berberized  descend- 
ant of  the  prophet's  son-in-law,  Ali-ibn-Hammoud, 
governor  of  Ceuta  and  Tangier,  who,  though  he 
scarcely  understood  the  songs  of  the  Arabians  sung  to 
him,  favored  the  Andalusians  in  the  beginning,  but 
swore  in  the  end  to  destroy  their  capital  and  extermi- 
nate its  inhabitants. 

His  death  in  a  bath  in  1018,  at  the  hands  of  three 


I 


96       The  Berber  Conquest  and  the  Khalifate. 


slaves,  freed  the  country  from  the  realization  of  his 
threats. 

During  the  next  ten  or  twelve  years,  Khalifs  and 
combinations  succeeded  one  another  with  dizzying 
rapidity.  The  Khalifate,  accelerating  in  its  downward 
incline,  rushed  to  its  destruction  with  a  velocity  that 
was  irresistible,  and  when  it  reached  the  end,  shattered 
into  a  dozen  fragments  —  republics,  at  Cordova  and 
Seville,  petty  sovereignties  in  the  East  and  South. 

Abderaman  IV.  Mortadha,  raised  to  the  throne  by 
Mondhir,  governor  of  Saragossa  and  the  Slav  Khairan, 
a  former  ally  of  Ali,  reestablished  for  a  while,  as  great- 
grandson  of  Abderaman  IT  I.,  the  ancient  dynasty  of 
the  Omaiyades.  He  was  soon  killed  by  the  emissaries 
of  Khairan,  since  he  was  found  too  proud  and  spirited 
for  the  Slav's  manipulation.  The  Berbers  were  hence- 
forth masters  of  Andalusia. 

The  Cordovans  (1023)  now  chose  a  son  of  Abdera- 
man IV.  as  Khalif,  who  took  the  title  of  fifth  of  that 
name  —  a  Khalif  of  seven  weeks.  He  fell  by  the 
hands  of  Mohammed  (1024),  one  of  the  still  numerous 
Omaiyade  connection.  His  brief  reign  was  memorable 
for  his  selection  of  Ibn-Hazin  as  vizier,  the  greatest 
scholar  of  his  time,  and  the  most  productive  writer 
Spain  has  ever  produced.  A  graceful  and  exquisite 
poet,  full  of  delicate  gallantry  and  enthusiasm,  ^'the 
chastest  and  most  Christian "  of  Mussulman  singers, 
an  Arabized  Spaniard,  whose  purity,  delicacy,  and  spir- 
ituality sprinkled,  as  with  a  perfume,  everything  they 
touched,  he  fell  from  his  lofty  height,  a  guiltless  Lucifer, 
leaving  behind  him  in  the  Arabian  annals  a  train  of 
light. 


The  End  of  the  Kingdom  of  Cordova,         9T 

Mohammed  III.,  a  guilty,  vulgar,  and  inept  assassin, 
was  poisoned  by  an  officer,  after  a  short  reign  full  of 
humiliations,  and  Cordova  was  for  six  months  without  a 
monarch.     Then  the  people  resolved  to  give  the  throne 
to  a  brother  of  Abderaman  IV.,  Hicham  III.,  (1027),  a 
stingy,  mumbling,  and  ridiculous  old  man,  whose  deity 
was  a  good  digestion,  who  stammered  with  embarrass- 
ment  at  his   own  receptions,  and  who  crawled  out  of 
Cordova,  covered  with  ignominy  and  shame,  when  his 
viziers,  loathing  his  imbecility,  published    a  manifesto 
to  the  Cordovans,  abolishing  the  Khalifate  in  perpetuity. 
Thus  ended  the  kingdom  of  Cordova.     Wrought  out 
of  many  heterogeneous  elements  —  snatched  from  the 
hand  of  the  emissaries  of  the  Khalif  of  the  East  in  755, 
by  Abderaman  I.,  elevated  to  a  Khalifate  under  Abder- 
aman HI.,  in  929,  its  existence  of  nearly  300  years  had 
been   illustrated   by   great   intellectual    brilliance    and 
innumerable  vicissitudes.     Cordova  had  become  a  city 
of  sanctuaries  and  pilgrimages  like  Mecca  and  Medina. 
On  the  rude  foundations  of  the  Visigoths,  whose  rule 
from   this   distance    seemed    an   incredible    episode  in 
Spanish  history,  so  utterly  had  names,  dynasties,  and 
associations  changed,  had  risen  a  race  at  once  fierce 
and  ethereal-tempered,  poetic  and  sanguinary,  polished 
and   unscrupulous,  who     built   fairy   Alhambras,   filled 
centuries  with  their  music,  and  drowned  cities  in  their 
blood.     The  Khalifate  was  a  century-plant  that  bloomed 
once  in  a  hundred  years,  and  then  fell  into  hopeless 
decay.     Xeres  de  la  frontera  was  avenged. 


The  Arabian  Character. 


99 


JH 


CHAPTER   V. 
SPAIN  UNDER  THE   OMAIYADES. 

IMMOBILITY  has  been  truly  said  to  be  the  distinct 
characteristic  of  the  swarming  tribes  that  traverse 
the  arid  deserts  of  Arabia  with   their  tents  and  flocks. 
What  they  were  yesterday,  —  last  year,  centuries  ago  — 
they  are  to-day,  and  will  be  to-morrow.     The  best  com- 
mentaries on  Arabian  history'  and  poetry  of  the  times  of 
Mahomet,  are  the  travellers'  stories,  —  Burckhardt's  and 
Burton's    descriptions  of   the  Bedouins  of  to-day,  un- 
changed in  their  manners,  customs,  and  modes  of  thought 
since  the  Hegira.     Intelligence,  energ>',  poetic  suscepti- 
bility, abound  among  these  people  ;  but  they  do  not  wish 
to  advance  in  civilization,  to  ameliorate  their  condition,  to 
reform  and  revolutionize  their  immemorial  code.     Why 
should  they  ?  *'  The  Bedouin  is  the  freest  man  on  earth  ;" 
he  dispenses  with  government ;  his  tribe  are  all  broth- 
ers,  free,    equal,    and    sympathetic;   and    the   chief   is 
simply  a  commoner,  exalted  to  that  rank  because  he  is 
stronger,  braver,  wealthier  than  the  rest.     All  wear  the 
same  clothing,  eat  the  same  food,  scorn  the  same  money, 
live  together  on  the  booty  of  the  day,  and  exemplify  a 
philosophy  of  unconscious  self-abnegation  that  is  full  of 
elements  of  grandeur.     "  Wealth  comes  in  the  morning 
and  goes  in  the   evening,"   says  an   Arab  poet.     His 
camels  and  his  horses  —  no  inch  of  soil  enamelled  by 


the  many-colored  products  of  a  refined  agriculture - 
are  his  sole  possession. 

Equal  among   themselves,  the  Arabs   esteem   them- 
selves infinitely  superior  to  the  toiler  in  the  field,  the 
artisan  in  his  workshop,  or  the  man  of  another  race. 
Hospitality,   gallantry,   courtesy,   poetic  talent,   spoken, 
eloquence,   are  with  them   beyond  mere  ancestry ;  the 
"kings  of  the  desert,"  as  the  Khalif  Omar  said,     are 
the  orators  and  poets,"  while  the  dismal  degeneracy  of 
the  human  race  comes  out  luminously  in  those  who  do 
not  practice  the  Bedouin  virtues."     "  Perfect "  was  the 
name  formerly  given  to  him  who -being  a  Bedouin- 
harmonized  with  the  poet's  gift  the  virtues  of  valor, 
liberality,  knowledge  of  writing,  swimming,  and  bending 

the  bow.  .      , 

A  noble  origin  -  the  memory  of  great  men  enshrined 
in  pathetic  and  worshipping  recollections  -  holds  a 
great  place  with  these  simple  folk  ;  and  before  the 
advent  of  Islamism  he  was  considered  especially  hon- 
orable, whose  father,  grandfather,  and  great-grandfather 
held  successively  the  chiefship  of  his  tribe.'  The  Be- 
douin virtues  thus  became  hereditary  in  certam  families  ; 
these  families  were  full  of  distinguished  men  ;  and  the 
position  they  occupied  got  to  be  correspondingly  lofty. 

"  Son  of  my  brother,"  is  the  title  which  an  old  Be- 
douin will  give  to  a  young  one  ;  the  two  will  live  or  die 
for  each  other,  resent  affronts  to  either  as  indignities 
to  both,  kill  the  last  lamb  for  the  sustenance  of  a  friend, 
and  are  filled  with  a  profound  and  unperishing  affection 
for  the  men  of  their  tribe.  ''  Love  your  tribe,"  says  one 
of  their  poets,  "for  you  are  attached  to  it  by  bonds 
stronger  than  those  between  a  husband  and  a  wife  ! 


1^ 


100 


Spain  under  the  Omaiyades. 


The  Arabian  Character, 


101 


H 


Contentment  with  his  lot,  hatred  of  change  and 
amelioration,  love  of  tranquillity,  gayety,  a  careless  and 
reverie-steeped  life,  such  are  the  traits  of  the  Bedouin 
as  distinguished  from  our  eternal  restlessness,  our  as- 
piration after  the  infinite,  our  feverish  and  illusion- 
haunted  existence,  and  progress  in  the  direction  of  a 
clear,  subtle,  and  thousand-hued  civilization.  The 
sphinx,  the  unchanging  Koran,  the  immeasurable  des- 
ert, are  his  symbols;  motionless  serenity  is  his  ideal; 
lack  of  imagination,  in  its  rich  and  comprehensive 
sense,  is  his  cardinal  defect. 

Impetuous,  fiery  in  their  passions,  the  Arabs  are  the 
least  inventive  of  nations.  Mythology  they  had  none, 
though  the  Kaaba  of  Mecca,  with  its  mystical  black 
stone,  was  filled  with  hundreds  of  representations  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  which  they  worshipped.  The  monothe- 
istic religion  of  Mahomet  was  simply  a  compound  of  the 
existing  systems  and  habitudes :  paganism  and  Judaism 
blended  in  its  ceremonial ;  reason  was  deified  in  its  rec- 
ognition of  one  God,  and  its  exclusion  of  the  supernat- 
ural ;  plastic  art  and  physical  manifestation  were  equally 
remote  from  its  purified  and  colorless  syllabus  of  reli- 
gious principles.  Realism  predominates  in  the  unin- 
ventive  literature  of  the  Arabians.  Epic  and  dramatic 
poems  —  the  great  field  of  the  supernatural  with  other 
races  —  are  wanting  with  them  ,  their  narrative  poetry 
is  very  defective  ;  their  descriptive  power  is  confined 
to  themselves  and  their  own  experiences  ;  ideality  is 
entirely  banished  from  their  over-heated  brains,  while 
an  infinite  expatiation  through  lyric  and  subjective 
moods,  an  endless  variation  on  emotional  and  sensual- 
istic  themes,  is  the  key-note  of  their  voluminous  verse. 


If  an  imaginative  tale  of  supposed  Arabian  origin,  dis- 
plays inventive  power,  this  fact  points  like  the  needle  to 
an  Indian  or  Persian  source.     The  Arabian  Nights  — 
that  charming  creation  of  some  Bagdad  story-teller  of 
the  eleventh  century,  possibly  even  of  Greek  origin  -- 
is  Arabian  only  in  those  parts  which  reproduce  real  life 
and  sparkle  with  anecdotes  gathered  from  it.    In  science 
there  is  the  same  lack  of   creative  power ;  admirable 
translators  and    commentators  on   the  ancients,  astute 
observers  where  they  have  had  a  leader,  they  have  done 
little  that  is  original.     Development  and  progress  can- 
not go  hand  in  hand  with  so  impassioned  a  yearning 
after  personal  independence  and  reserve  as  they  show ; 
they  have  no  political  spirit,  no  consciousness  of  broad, 
socialistic  instinct.     They  came  to  Spain,  despite  the 
enormous  successes  of  the  Mussulman  arms,  essentially 
the  sons  of  the  desert ;  an  aggregation  of  tribes  ready 
to  pursue  to  the  death  their  ancient  feuds  ;  unrefreshed 
and  unenlightened  by  their  vast  travels,  with  the  dust 
of  Damascus,  Persia,  and  the  Indies  on  their  feet ;  a  race 
captive  to  hereditary  prejudices,  and  ready  to  fight  out, 
on  the  soil  of  Spain,  the  accumulated  hates  and  grudges 
of  hundreds  of  years. 

Such  was  the  character  of  the  multitude  of  pagan  tribes 
that  peopled  Arabia  before  their  conversion  from  Sabae- 
anism  to  Mahometanism.  Arabia,  itself  too  poor  to 
attract  a  foreign  subjugator,  set  in  motion  by  a  religious 
fanatic,  sent  forth  an  array  of  generals,  who  soon  planted 
the  green  banner  of  Islam  from  the  Ganges  to  the 
Tagus,  from  the  laxartes  to  the  Niger. 

And  nothing  is  more  remarkable  than  Mahomet's 
success.     A  nervous,  delicate,  impressionable  constitu- 


102 


Spain  under  the  Omalyades. 


At  ah  tan  Poetry. 


103 


tion   inherited  from  his  mother,  cast  over  his  life  the 
veil  of  a  morbid  and  over-laden  religious  consciousness. 
A  coward,  a  dreamer,  a  weeper  of  womanish  tears  from 
pure    excess   of    nervous   organization,    tormented   by 
vague  inquietudes  and  epileptic  seizures,  unhealthy  and 
un-Arabic  to  the  last  degree,  his  ascendency  over  the 
brave,  irreligious,  unimaginative,  and  positive  Arabs,  is 
a  subject  of  great  interest.     "Instead  of  praying  five 
times  a  day,  they  never  pray,"  says   a  traveller,  even  of 
the  Bedouins  of  to-day.    Their  land,  in  Mahomet's  time, 
was  divided  up  between  the  followers  of  Moses,  Christ, 
and    polytheism.     The    Christians   had    learned   from 
Christianity  little  more  than  the  habit  of  drinking  wine. 
The  idolaters  admitted  one  supreme  God,  Allah,  —  with 
whom    the    other   divinities   were    intercessors,  —  and 
delighted  in  cheating  their  idols  by  sacrificing  to  them 
a  gazelle  instead  of  a  sheep.     The  Jews,  intensely  intol- 
erant and  full  of  the  spirit  of  persecution,  were,  perhaps, 
the  only  sincere  and  consistent  sect  of  the  peninsula. 
Wine,  combat,  play,  and  love,  held  the  chief  part  in  the 
life  of  the  Arab,  though  he  was  far  from  being  incapable 
of  being  wrought  up,  by  religious  enthusiasm,  by  a  fine 
poem,  or  the   recital    of  a   noble   deed,  to   passionate 
emotion. 

Mahomet's  mission  was  to  transform,  metamorphose, 
spiritualize  a  sensual,  sceptical,  and  mocking  race. 
Though  reviled,  treated  with  every  infamy  as  a  diviner, 
magician,  fool,  he  succeeded  in  cleansing  the  Arabian 
pantheon  of  its  three  hundred  and  sixty  divinities,  insti- 
tuting the  worship  of  the  true  God,  founding  a  great 
Khalifate  which  shone  with  serene  glory  at  Damascus 
and  Bagdad,  while  Europe  was  in  night,  and  convincing 


countless  thousands  if  not  of  the  truth  of  Islamism,  at 
least  of  the  irresistible  might  of  its  armies. 

We  see  the  peculiar  administration  of  Islam  firmly 
founded  in  the  ten  years'  reign  of  the  second  Khalif, 
Omar ;  and  the  n.ilitary  system  developed  by  his  fol- 
lower Osman,  who  caused  all  copies  of  the  Koran,  ex- 
cept those  in  the  handwriting  of  Mahomefs  wife  to  be 
destroyed.     Then  we  see  Moawia,  the  fifth  Khal.f,  and 
founder  of    the  Omaiyade  dynasty,  strengthening   the 
internal  administration,  and   transforming  the  elective, 
into  an  hereditary,  Klialifate  ;  his  son  Yezid  desecrating 
the  court  of  the  Khalifs  by  hordes  of  singers  and  wine- 
bibbers;Abdelmelic,  extending  Islim  from  Carthage  to 
tire  Indus,  striking  the  first  coins,  and  assimi.at.ng  his 
administration  more  and  more  to  Persian  and  Byzantine 
models ;  Walid,  the  mightiest  and  most  glorious  of  the 
Omaiyade  Khalifs,  building  the  incomparable  mosque 
of  Damascus,  and  ennobling  his  reign  by  ^e  noblest 
tributes  to  architecture,  music,  and  poetry ;  and  finally 
the  long  line  of  Abbaside  Khalifs  bringing  the  glory  of 
Moslem  science,  conquest,  and  experiment  to  its  culmi- 
nation in  the  figures  of  Almansor  (753-775).  Harun-ar- 
Rachid  (786-808).  and  Al-Mamoun  (813-833)- 

Spain  became  a  new  forcing-house  for  Arabian  poetry, 
art,  and  science,  especially  when  it  became  independent 
of  the  Eastern  Khalifate  in  755-  ""''^r  Abderaman  I 
The  Khalifs  of  Cordova  illumined  the  west  as  those  ot 
Bagdad  did  the  east.  Both  Abderaman  and  his  son 
Hicham  I.,  were  gifted  poets.  Three  hundred  orphan 
children  were  educated  by  Abderaman  II.,  in  tne 
mosque  of  Cordova,  and  the  stories  told  of  his  powers 
of  improvisation,  his  passion  for  music,  and  for  con- 


104 


Spain  under  the  Omaiyades. 


structing    mosques,    fountains,    baths,    and    aqueducts, 
attest  a  versatile  genius. 

The  times  of  Abderaman  III.,  and  his  son  Hacam, 
were,  however,  the   golden  age  of   Arabian  culture  in 
Spain.     Scientific    and    artistic    activity,  refinement   of 
manners,  the  essentials  of  a  polite  and  comprehensive 
education,  w^ere  then  all  but  universal.     The  grandees 
imitated  the  example  of  their  brilliant  princes,  and  east 
and  west  were  ransacked  for  teachers  skilled  in  all  the 
sciences  of   the  day,  in  which    their  sons  were  to   be 
trained.     "  If  a  fly  buzzed  over  their  heads,"  says  an 
Arabian  writer  of  the  Khalifs  of  Bagdad,  "  they  asked 
the   advice  of   the  famous  scholar  Ismael-ben-Casim," 
called  to  Spain   by  the  alluring  offers  of  Abderaman 
III.;  and  all  were  said  to  have  been  enchanted  with 
Casim's  striking  gifts,  his  compositions,  the  nobility  of 
his  mind,  and  the  grace  of  his  deportment.     Under  his 
guidance,  Hacam  devoted  twenty  years  to  the  accumula- 
tion   of    his    inestimable    collection.      The    Omaiyade 
prince  was  a  George  III.  in  genealogies,  and  had  the 
family  tree  of  all  the  Arabs  of  the  Spanish  provinces  at 
his  fingers'  ends.     The  wealthier  scholars  of  the  day 
assembled  in  winter  in  rooms  perfumed  with  musk  and 
amber,  the  floors  covered  with  silken  and  woollen  car- 
pets, and   sprinkled   with   rose-water,   while  groups  of 
grave  Mussulmans  gathered  around  a  cylinder  of  glow- 
ing coals   in  the   centre,  and  discussed  with  Oriental 
subtlety,  passages  and  verses  from  the  Koran.     Multi- 
tudinous  meats,    fruits,    dates,    and    daintily   prepared 
dishes  of  every  sort  were  handed  round,  and   fortified 
the    strength    of    the    company    for    new    intellectual 
combats. 


Poetry  and  the  Aral's  Life. 


105 


Such  were  the  house  and  the  social  habitudes  of  Said, 
^fagui  in  Toledo,  in  the  reign  of  Hacam. 

Poetry  was  the  quintessence  of  the  Arab's  life ;  ven- 
geance, love,  ambition,  hospitality,  all  found  their  echo 
and  idealization  in  that.  The  desert,  the  storm,  the 
skirmish,  the  camel,  gazelle,  and  barb  ;  the  praise  of 
the  sword  and  lance ;  the  charms  of  the  beloved,  are 
mirrored  in  it  in  a  series  of  minute  but  exquisite  pictures 
artificially  interwoven  in  verse  of  a  singularly  compli- 
cated structure.  The  gatherings  at  the  sanctuary  of 
Mecca,  stimulated  the  rival  poets ;  the  "  divine  prose  " 
of  Mahomet,  through  the  widely  disseminated  Koran, 
found  numerous  imitators,  and  the  poetry  of  the  Arabi- 
ans began  more  and  more  to  sing  the  praise  of  the 
prophet  and  his  followers.  The  gorgeous  court  of 
Bagdad,  with  its  Persian  dances,  pantomimes,  and 
sports,  its  musical  instruments  and  songs,  its  voluptuous 
life,  and  manifold  intellectual  energy,  influenced  these 
poets ;  they  became  tcrhnigne-cXnw^rs,  learned  metrical 
grammarians;  astronomers  and  jurisconsults.  With 
physical  slavery,  the  bondage  of  the  soul  went  hand  in 
hand.  The  poetry  of  nature  congealed  into  a  court 
poetry,  then  into  a  poetry  of  the  schools. 

The  Moslem  West  was  the  "  nerve  "  of  these  "  else 
unfelt  oppressions,"  and  vibrated  faithfully  to  the  tunes 
•  struck  in  the  East.  The  Spanish  Arabs  produced  some 
of  the  most  beautiful  specimens  of  the  poetic  art, 
though  the  two  most  distinguished  poets  of  the  court 
were  Spaniards.  Abderaman's  harem  contained,  also, 
three  or  four  celebrated  poetesses. 

We  find  the   Spanish  Arabians  delighting  in  poetic 
encyclopaedias,  '^ knots  of  jewels,"  "garlands  of  song," 


ii 


106  Spain  under  the  Omaiyades, 

many-voliimed  works  named  after  flowers  and  precious 
stones.  The  Bedouins  were  supreme  purists  ;  they  were 
connoisseurs  in  matters  of  accent,  purity  of  diction,  and 
faultless  rhythm ;  and  their  descendants  in  Spain  culti- 
vated the  same  virtues. 

History  was  neglected  among  the  Arabs,  both  Span- 
ish and  Oriental.  Genealogists,  compilers  of  anecdotes, 
anthologists,  gleaners  of  celebrated  events  here  and 
there,  chroniclers  of  famines,  pestilences,  and  droughts, 
men  'who  enumerated  the  hours  of  a  prince's  life  or 
reic^n  while  passing  over  the  most  important  transac- 
tions in  silence,  abounded  in  Spain,  and  continued  writ- 
ing those  moonlight  rhapsodies  characteristic  of  the 
de'^sert,  when,  assembling  his  people  about  him,  the 
Arab  Sheik  fascinated  their  simple  minds  by  telling 
them  the  traditions  and  memories  of  the  race,  in  a  tone 
of  mystic  and  rhythmic  enthusiasm. 

Al-Makkari  in  Spain,  Abul-Feda,  Makrizi,  Ibn-Katib, 
and  Siyooti,  in  Syria  and  Africa,  made  voluminous  com- 
pilations and  chronicles,  all  of  which  were  destitute  of 

critical  spirit. 

The  Arab  book-cases  always  swarmed  with  theologi- 
cal works,  glossaries,  commentaries,  and  legai  treatises. 
The  reign  of  Al-Mamoun  (813-833),  showed  a  rapid 
evolution  of  the  science  of  astronomy  out  of  the  fancies 
of  astrolog\';  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  the 
diameter  of  \he  earth,  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic,  were 
approximately  determined  in  his  reign,  and  the  unsur- 
passed serenity  of  the  Spanish  and  Arabian  skies  con- 
duced peculiarly  to  observations  of  the  stars.  The  first 
astronomical  observatory  on  record,  rose  in  1196  at 
Seville,  erected  by  Geber;  but  the  conceptions  of  Arab 


^  V  ''•.    .i    '.^\  i  1 

K  -^      A' j' 


k  '■' 
1^  Ilk 

J    illl!" 


ill!,'   •    .i'lili;; 


I-  '. ; ' 


i.  .-'I,;- -I. 


M!i  ilfMi^" 


.  ) 


"'<'■■'■  ■'■'■■■ill  I 


Scientific  Progress. 


109 


astronomers  were  hampered  by  their  adhesion  to  the 

system  of  Ptolemy.  ^ 

Translations   of    the    Greek    geometers,    of    Euchd, 
Archimedes  and  Apollonius,  for  a  time  satisfied  their 
craving  for  mathematics,  but  by  the  tenth  century,  they 
had  begun  to  solve  quadratic  and  cubic  equations,  and 
to  investigate   profoundly  the  laws  of   spherical  trigo- 
nometry    Their  skill  in  hydraulics  is  attested  by  the 
marvellous  system  of  irrigation  which  they  introduced 
into  Spain,  and  which  survives  there  to-day ;  and  even 
optics  and  hydrostatics  were  studied  by  them.     They 
were  famous  physicians,  and,  later  on,  became  deeply 
versed  in  the  writings  of  Galen  and  Hippocrates.    Medi- 
cal treatises  like  those  of  Avicenna,  Er-Razi,  and   Ali- 
ibn-Abbas,  attained  great  celebrity,  and  but  for  a  super- 
stitious horror  of  dissection,  surgery,  as  shown  by  their 
improvements  in   the  lancet  and   the  couching-needle, 
would  have  been  successfully  cultivated  at  their  hands. 
Their  knowledge   of    chemistry,  obvious  in  the  many 
terms  which  the  Europeans  have  borrowed  from  them, 
—  alkali,  alcohol,  alembic,   and  the  like.  —  and  in  the 
apothecary's  symbols,  extended  to  many  preparations  of 
mercury,  arsenic,  metallic  sulphates,  and  healing  herbs. 
Their  skill   in   metallurgy,  in   enamelling,    in   delicate 
manipulation  of  gold,  silver,   copper,  and  porcelain,  is 
seen  in  the  well-known  Damascus  blades,  the  wonderful 
vase  of  the  Alhambra,  and  the  jewelled  dagger-hilts  of 
the  Khalifs.     Writing  paper  is  said  to  have  been  known 
at  Mecca  early  in  the  eighth  century ;  the  invention  of 
gun-powder,  which  afterwards  played  so  effective  a  part 
in    Ferdinand   and    Isabella's    campaigns    against   the 
Moors,  is  attributed  by  some  to  them.     The  pendulum 


110 


Spaiyi  under  the  Omaiyadec, 


Arabian  Philosophy. 


Ill 


and  a  species  of  telegraph  were  claimed  to  have  been 
introduced  by  the  Arabs  into  Europe,  with  the  silk  co- 
coon, the  sugar-cane,  the  date-palm,  and  the  cotton-plant  • 
and  to  them  the  invention  of  the  mariner's  compass  is 
attributed.  Cordova  became  so  celebrated  for  its  prep- 
arations of  leather,  tanned  by  means  of  the  bitter  rind 
of  the  pomegranate,  that  it  gave  its  name  (Cordwain,) 
to  the  industry :  and  the  name  of  Morocco  no  less  is 
commemorated  co  the  book-lover,  in  the  binding  of  his 
books. 

Their  knowledge  of  music,  save  such  crude  instru- 
mentation as  they  could  draw  out  of  their  primitive 
tabor,  harp,  guitar,  and  flute,  they  derived  from  Persia, 
more  especially  after  the  foundation  of  Bagdad.  Even 
the  names  of  the  majority  of  their  musical  instruments 
are  Persian.  A  generous  rivalry  soon  produced  accom- 
plished musicians  and  singers.  Ziryab  built  up  a  school 
of  thorough  musical  artists  at  Cordova,  whose  renown 
equalled  that  of  the  Syrian  masters.  Music  was  scien- 
tifically treated,  too;  the  principles  of  the  art,  the 
modes  of  composition,  and  musical  notation,  with  the 
notes  indicated  by  letters,  were  investigated  and  dis- 
cussed, and  startling  effects  were  produced  on  the  sus- 
ceptible Arabs  by  the  songs  and  melodies  of  their 
maestrL 

The  development  of  their  worship  out  of  Sabaeanism 
and  star-worship,  their  original  disinclination,  under 
Omar,  to  literature,  then  the  sudden  dawning  of  the 
Arabian  golden  age  at  Bagdad,  from  the  reign  of  Al- 
mansor  (755),  through  that  of  his  grandson,  Harun-ar- 
Rachid,  and  great-grandson,  Almamoun  (the  former  of 
whom  never  travelled,  said  Elmacin,  without  a  hundred 
scholars  in  his  suite,  and  attached   a  school  for  poor 


children  to  every-  mosque)  ;  all  these  things  showed,  to  a 
certain  extent,  a  transformation  of  the  flinty  immobility 
originally  characteristic  of  the  Bedouin,  and  a  capability 
of  progress,  if  not  in  law  and  religion,  at  least  in  the 
less  rigidly  circumscribed  sphere  of  intellectual  effort. 

The''  Nestorian  Christians  profoundly  influenced  the 
beginnings  of   Arabian  civilization.     The  Jews  of  the 
Orient  were  celebrated  for  their  academies  and  labors, 
initiating  the  Arabs  into    the    profane    sciences  of  an- 
tiquity     The   director  of   the    schools  of  the    empire, 
under  the  cruel  but  enlightened  Harun-ar-Rachid  was  a 
Christian,  deeply  versed    in    Greek   literature.     "  It   is 
well  known,"  said  Almamoun,  the  Moslem  Augustus,  to 
his  father,  "  that  the  most  learned  men  are  found  only 
among  the  Jews   and  Christians."     Caravans  returned 
to  Bagdad  laden  with  precious  manuscripts  gathered  by 
his  command,  and  translation  was   pursued  with  such 
ardor  that  it  became  hereditary  in  certain  families,  even 
women  busying  themselves  with  it.     Once  translated, 
the  originals   were  destroyed,  to  be  replaced  by  new 
ones  exacted  of  the  Greeks  by  Almamoun  as  a  sort  of 
tribute.     Six  thousand  pupils  studied  in  the  university 
of  Bagdad.     The    eminently  assimilative    spirit  of   the 
Arabs   borrowed    alchemy  from    Egypt,   geometry  and 
astronomy  from   Greece,   medicine   and  algebra  from 
India,   and  philosophy  and   natural  science,  from  the 
writings  of  Aristotle. 

Meagre  as  the  Arabian  chronicles  of  Spain  are,  they 
are  superior  to  the  contemporary  Christian  chronicles, 
and  fancifully-named  as  their  "  Golden  Meadows  "  and 
"  Full  Moons  "  of  history  may  be,  cut  up  into  an  infinity 
of  biographic  details,  they  yet  throw  great  light  on  an 
otherwise  hopelessly  obscure  epoch. 


*^ 


112  Spain  under  the  Omaiyades, 

In  their  poetry,  "Night  dialogues  with  Dawn,"  "Cy- 
press with  Zephyr,"  the  "  Nightingale  with  the  Rose," 
there  is  boundless  allegory;  — an  exquisite  physical 
organization  renders  their  poets  easily  intoxicated  with 
harmonious  sounds.  "  I  thought  of  thee,"  cried  one  of 
their  warrior-poets  to  his  mistress,  "  while  the  lances 
were  quenching  their  thirst  in  my  sides,  and  the  Indian 
swolrds  were  bathing  in  my  blood  ;  passionately  I  longed 
to  kiss  the  swords  whose  sparkling  flash  recalled  to  me 
thy  teeth  when  thou  smilest." 

The   Arabian   philosophers   were   truly  "vassals   of 
Aristotle;"  they  could    disport   themselves  within  his 
inflexible  syllogisms  when   they  could  not  apprehend 
the  light  and  spiritual  intelligence  of  Plato.     A  mania 
for  argumentation,  therefore,   sprang  up  among  them, 
often  degenerating  into  a  mere  click-clack  of  meaning- 
less words.     The  naked  Koran  was  too  plain ;  it  must 
be   encircled   with    a   halo   of   fantastic  allegories ;  its 
words,  under  the  influence  of  the  frivolous  cabalistic 
studies  of  the  Jewish  philosophers  reacting  upon  the 
Arabian,  were  commented  upon  with  curious  care  ;  magic 
influences  were  extorted  from  the  innumerable  names  of 
God  and  the  angels  contained  in  the  sacred  volume,  and 
Arabian  magic  grew  out  of  religion  as  astrology  out  of 
astronomy. 

Averroes  of  Cordova  (1198),  Alfarabi  (950),  who  was 
said  to  know  seventy  languages,  Avicenna,  and  Alkhindi, 
were  the  most  famous  commentators  on  Aristotle.  The 
search  for  the  philosopher's  stone  and  the  transmutation 
of  metals  grew  out  of  these  studies.  The  Arabs  really 
revolutionized  medicine  by  substituting  emollient  reme- 
dies for  the  drastic  purges  of  the  Greeks ;  they  knew 


Arabian  Music. 


113 


the  applications  of  the  moxa  and  treated  small-pox 
intelligently ;  and  their  botanists  and  geographers  made 
immense  collections  of  plants  and  observations.  Ihe 
purity  and  price  of  drugs  were  carefully  looked  into ; 
na/>ma,  camphor,  syrup,  jalap,  etc.,  are  claimed  to  sug- 
gest the  intimacy  of  modern  medicine  with  the  works  of 
the  Arabian  pharmaceutists.  The  Arabic  numerals 
substituted  for  the  clumsy  Roman  ciphers,  were  said  to 
have  been  brought  from  Cordova  by  pope  Sylvester  II. 
while  studying  at  the  university. 

The  circumference  of  the  earth  was  fixed  under 
Almamoun  at  about  twenty-four  thousand  miles,  and 
eclipses  were  studied  with  care.  Frequent  severe  exam- 
inations held  in  public,  took  place  at  the  Spanish  uni- 
versities. "  The  doctor's  ink  is  as  good  as  the  martyr  s 
blood,"  is  a  popular  Arabian  proverb  showing  the  im- 
portance, later  on,  attached  to  learning. 

To  the  brutal  supremacy  of  a  purely  militant  religion 
we  thus  see  succeeding  the  calmer  arts  of  peace  and 
enlightenment.  Cairo,  Cairwan  and  Fez  disputed  with 
Cordova  and  Bagdad  in  the  noble  rivalry  of  letters,  and 
the  shores  of  the  southern  Mediterranean  became  an 
illuminated  horizon  to  the  dwellers  in  darkness  and  the 
shadow  of  death  on  the  northern.  ^^ 

As  "an  appendix  to  this  picture  of  civilization, 
came  architecture  and  the  kindred  arts.  Calligraphy, 
with  its  colored  inks  and  brilliantly  tinted  parch- 
ments which  reflected  objects  like  a  mirror,  music  sug- 
gested by  the  harmonious  language  itself,  recitative  in 
cadenced  verse,  the  lute  and  mandolin  with  their 
musical  airs  written  in  circles,  all  showed  the  mathe- 
matical genius  of  the  Arabs  etherealized  to  a  fine  art. 


•J    * 


114 


Spain  under  the  Omaiyades. 


3 


Music  is  said  to  have  reconciled  Ar-Rachid  with  his 
favorite  odalisque ;  Alfarabi  the  Arabian  Orpheus,  exe- 
cuted before  the  sultan  of  Syria  a  piece  of  music  whose 
first  chords  cast  the  sultan  and  his  court  into  a  flood  of 
laughter,  then  made  them  burst  into  tears,  and  growing 
faint  and  fainter,  plunged  the  whole  assembly  into  a 
sweet  and  ecstatic  slumber  ! 

The  people  of  Cordova  were  called  to  prayer  from 
more  than  four  thousand  minarets;  long  living  together 
with  Christians  came  gradually  to  soften  the  ferocity  of 
manners  ;  the  Christian  church-bells  rang  their  congrega- 
tions to  divine  worship,  and  priests,  nuns,  and  monks 
were  allowed  to  appear  in  the  streets  in  the  dresses  of 
their  orders.  Cursing  Mahomet,  and  abusing  his  doc- 
trine were  alone  forbidden  under  pain  of  death. 


THK,   GIBALDA,    SEVILLi-.       {\\ii:    r  i  k>  i     .;,,^rrv\Mv    r. , ., 


CHAPTER  VI. 


|l  HI  ^ 


\ 


i 

! 
■I 


SPAIX  UNDER  THE  OMAIYADES. 
[continued.] 

THE  rapid  conquests  of   Isldm  soon  brought  the 
Arabs  to  a  knowledge  of  other  lands,  and  along 
with  these  conquests  went  the  building  of  great  cities, 
the  establishment  of  fixed  abodes,  and  the  cultivation  of 
architecture.     Immeasurable  wealth  resulted  from  these 
expeditions,  which  was  employed  largely  in  rebuilding 
the  ruined  dwelling-places  of  the  conquered,  under  the 
superintendence  of  Greek,  Persian,  and  Syrian  engineers 
and  architects.     The  sight  of  the  noble  structures  of 
cheir  enemies,   roused  emulation   in  the  Arabs.     The 
storm  of  conquest  over,  and  permanent  abodes  having 
become  necessary  for  the  Khalif  and  his  many  govern- 
ors, the  simplicity  and  severity  of  the  earlier  followers 
of  Mahomet  yielded  to  the  luxurious  tastes  of  the  later 
conquerors  ;  splendid  mosques  and  palaces  sprung  up ; 
Jerusalem,  Mecca,   and  Medina  gave  evidence  of  the 
development    of    Moslem    art;    and    the    sumptuous 
mosque   of    Damascus  — the   glory   of    the    Omaiyade 
dynasty  — rose  as  if  by  enchantment,  in  the  early  capi- 
tal of  the  Eastern  Khalifate.     The  grave  of  Mahomet 
at  Medina,  and  his  sanctuary  at  Mecca  were  embel- 
lished.   But  above  all,  the  Damascus  mosque  (705-7 15X 
with  its  three  aisles,  its  rows  of  red  granit.^  columns, 

117 


\ 


i  \  \  m 


118 


Spain  under  the  Omalyadei>. 


and  red  and  green  marble  pillars,  its  dome  of  the  eagle, 
its  six  hundred  lamps  of  silver  swinging  by  gilded 
chains,  its  golden-lettered  suras,  running  on  a  ground  of 
azure  round  the  walls  within,  its  triple  minarets  whence 
the  muezzins  called  to  prayer,  and  its  four  doors  point- 
ing to  the  four  quarters  of  the  world,  served  to  show 
the  dawning  glory  of  Mahometan  architecture. 

The  founding  of  Bagdad  on  the  Tigris  in  762,  by  Alman- 
sor,  —  with  its  six  hundred  canals,  its  one  hundred  and 
five  bridges,  its  ten  thousand  mosques  and  baths,  itsfour- 
and-twenty  thousand  municipal  divisions,  its  glorious 
green-domed  palace,  and  the  palace  built  by  Almansor 
(through  whose  seven  courts  the  Greek  ambassadors  were 
led  in  the  first  of  which  were  a  hundred  lions,  in  the 
second  a  hundred  giraffes,  in  the  third  and  fourth,  as 
many  elephants  and  Arabian  horses),  —  enormously  stim- 
ulated the  growth  of  architecture  and  all  its  co-ordinate 
branches.  The  translations  of  the  mathematical  writ- 
ings of  the  Greeks  at  the  same  time  gave  the  Arabs  the 
key  to  many  architectural  and  mechanical  principles. 

The  founding  of  the  Omaiyade  dynasty  in  the  West, 
the  favorable  conditions  by  which  it  was  accompanied, 
the  beautiful  land  and  climate  of  Spain,  and  the  great 
caravans  perpetually  passing  to  and  fro  along  the  Med- 
iterranean countries,  bringing  rumors  of  the  splendors 
of  the  Abbiside  dynasty  of    Bagdad ;    all   this^  awoke 
keen  interest  and  competition  on  both  sides.     Cordova 
became  a  second  Bagdad  ;  its  noble  monuments  rivalled 
those   of   the   east;  its   great   mosque    competed   with 
Almansor's    and    its   sprightly  and  mobile    population 
became  adepts  in  a  picturesque  and  subtle  refinement. 
Abderaman  I.  is  said  to  have  laid  the  foundation  of 


The  Cordova  Mezquita. 


119 


the  Cordova -Mezquita,"   about  the  year  786.     It  was 
intended  to  excel  that  of  Bagdad  in  elegance,  as  those 
of  Medina  and  Jerusalem  excelled  it  in  repute  for  holi- 
ness •  and  it  was  to  be  the  memorial  of  the  Omaiyades 
in  the  peninsula.     Abderaman  worked  an  hour  on  it 
daily  with  his  own  hand,  and  expended  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  gold  pieces  in  its    construction   bu 
he  died  before  its  completion.     Succeeding  sultans  se 
aside  special  taxes  and  spoils  to  maintain  its  associated 
schools  and  hospitals  ;  its  exquisite  chapel  is  said  to 
be  due   to-Hacam,    and   "the  glory   of  the   Evemng 
Land"  was  completed  by  the  terrible  Almansor 

The  interior  of  the     mosque  is   divided  into  forty- 
eight  aisles,  nineteen  running  from  north  to  south    and 
twenty-nine  from  east  to  west.     Nineteen  great  doors 
now  walled  up,  with  one  exception,  opened  from  the 
lovely  fountained  court-yard  in  the  direction  o    Mecca ; 
from  a  thousand  to  fourteen  hundred  columns  of  precious 
marble,  porphyry,  jasper,  and  W  anf^.ue,  supported 
the  horseshoe  arches  within ;  plates  of  bronze    richly 
wrought,  covered  the  doors;  mouldings  m  gold,  orna- 
mented the  main  entrance;  three  gilded  globes,  sur- 
mounted by  a  golden  pomegranate,  rose  f^ve  the  sum- 
mit of  the  cupola ;  four  thousand  seven  hundred  lamps 
illumined  the  glowing  darkness  of  the  great  sanctuary 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  of  aloe  and  ambe 
daily  perfumed  its   spaces.      Glass    mosaic  of  curious 
deliLcy  and  b.auty,  was  used  with  effect  in  the  embla  - 
oning  of  the  walls  and  arches,  and  peAaps  the  most 

exqJsite  thing  of  its  kind  in  th^. --^^' .^Vltue! 
seven-sided  chapel  of  Hacam,  with  its  blinding  marbles 
and  its  incomparable  al/iamis  and  mosaic. 


l^ 


120 


Spain  under  the  Omaiyades, 


The  Palace  of  Zahr&. 


121 


The  palace  of  Zahra,  built  at  enormous  expense,  five 
miles  below  Cordova,  during  the  reign  of  Abderaman 
III.,  had  no  such  lucky  fate  as  the  mosque.  It  was  said 
to  be  rather  a  city  than  a  palace  if  we  can  credit  the 
statement  that  it  was  two  thousand  seven  hundred  ells 
in  length  and  one  thousand  five  hundred  in  width, 
while  Africa,  Greece,  Spain,  and  France  contributed  to 
the  thousands  of  marble  columns,  of  every  color,  em- 
ployed in  its  construction.  The  floors  were  laid  with 
variegated  stone,  the  walls  clothed  with  marble,  the 
hues  of  the  rainbow  played  about  the  skilfully-wrought 
flagstones,  the  ceilings  sparkled  with  gold  and  azure 
inlaid  work,  and  the  rafters  were  of  larch-wood, 
delicately  chiselled.  Marble  urns  and  shells  filled  with 
cr)^stal  water,  cooled  the  larger  apartments ;  a  magnifi- 
cent fountain  of  jasper  from  Constantinople,  adorned 
the  centre  of  the  Khalif's  hall,  over  which  hung  the 
matchless  pearl  presented  by  the  Greek  emperor  to 
Abderaman.  The  mint  and  the  mosque  attached  to  the 
palace  were  celebrated.  Immense  gardens  and  orchards 
surrounded  the  palace,  with  groves  of  myrtle  and  laurel, 
and  there  were  lakes  overhung  by  pleasure-houses.  The 
Khalif's  pavilion  of  white  marble,  upheld  by  columns 
with  gilded  capitals,  rose  on  an  elevation  of  the  garden, 
and  in  the  centre  was  a  porphyry  fountain-shell,  filled 
with  quicksilver,  of  blinding  brightness  when  moon  or 
sun  shone  upon  it,  so  that,  **  if  he  wished  to  surprise  or 
terrify  any  one  in  his  company,  the  Khalif.would  make  a 
sign  to  one  of  his  Slavonians  to  put  the  quicksilver  in 
motion ;  the  glare  from  which  would  strike  the  eye  of 
the  spectator  like  flashes  of  lightning,  and  alarm  all 
present  with  the  idea  that  the  room  was  in  motion,  as 
long  as  the  agitation  of  the  quicksilver  continued." 


Marble  baths  of  great  solidity  and  elegance  were 
found  in  the  gardens,  in  which  curtains,  covers,  and 
carpets  of  gold  and  silver  stuff,  artistically  wrought 
with  foliage,  flowers,  and  animals,  ministered  to  the 
pleasure  and  seclusion  of  the  bathers.  Travellers  from 
the  far  East  came  to  visit  Zahra  and  declared  that  it 
was  unique  in  its  kind.  The  accounts  left  by  the 
Arabian  historians  of  the  mosque  of  Cordova,  which  is 
so  perfect  to-day,  are  so  accurate,  that  it  would  not  be 
stretching  credulity  to  an  extreme  to  put  faith  in  their 
descriptions  of  Zahra,  the  -  Flower  and  Blossom "  of 
palaces,  which  has  utterly  vanished  from  the  face  of 

the  earth. 

The  shadows  of  palms  and  pomegranates  overhung 
innumerable  fountains  erected  by  Abderaman  II.  and 
III. ;  a  great  aqueduct  brought  water  to  Cordova,  and 
discharged  it  in  a  mighty  reservoir  guarded  by  colossal 
lions  covered  with  pure  gold  and  with  jewels  for  eyes  — 
"  among  the  most  astonishing  performances  of  kings  of 
any  age."  Love  of  water,  of  overshadowing  verdure, 
of  sec^'recy,  of  a  reserved  and  intimate  life,  characterizes 
the  Mussulman  wherever  he  may  be. 

The  domestic  architecture  was  simple  and  graceful ; 
enclosed  and  colonnaded  courts,  with  a  fountain  in  the 
middle ;  gayly-colored  tiles,  shadow-filled  rooms,  mosaic 
ornamentation,  trellises  of  daintily-wrought  iron,  flow- 
ers, murmuring  water.  The  exterior -for  fear  of  the 
evil  eye  —  was  plain  and  unostentatious  ;  echoes  were 
avoided  by  careful  construction  ;  light  percolated  from 
above  through  lattices  often  filled  with  colored  glass  ; 
and  the  houses  in  winter  were  heated  by  iron  or  burnt- 
clay  pipes. 


N' 


122 


Spain  under  the  Omaiyades, 


Art  and  Architecture. 


123 


The  Arabian  style  of  architecture  underwent  a  grad- 
ual development  out  of  what  might  be  called  Arabo-By- 
zantine,  through  the  Arabo-Moorish,  to  the  quaint  and 
fanciful  Moorish  proper.  The  simplicity  of  the  Greek 
and  Byzantine  styles  was  too  austere  for  the  luxury- 
lovins:  Arab :  he  added  new  forms  and  new  wealth  of 
adornment,  with  obvious  reminiscences  of  Palmyra  and 
Heliopolis  ;  in  fact  his  religion  compelled  him  to  make 
essential  changes. 

The  round  arch  in  his  hands  became  horseshoe- 
shaped,  now  semi-circular,  now  pointed,  symbolizing, 
according  to  Hartwell,  the  inverted  crescent  of  Islam ; 
short,  slender  columns,  placed  singly  or  grouped  on  a 
common  base,  were  introduced ;  arches  resting  on  the 
capitals  of  the  columns,  and  forming  a  projection  over 
the  impost,  built  over  by  a  second  series  of  narrower 
arches ;  flat  doors  almost  unornamented,  semi-circular 
or  horseshoe-shaped  windows  of  small  size,  walls  em- 
bellished with  mosaic  and  stucco,  low  roofs,  especially  to 
the  dome-covered  mosques,  and  slender  minarets  ;  such 
are  some  of  the  main  features  of  the  system. 

The  need  of  elaborate  embellishment  in  the  interior 
of  their  palaces  and  mosques  soon  showed  itself; 
hence  the  evolution  of  that  eccentric  compound  of 
mathematically  formed  foliage,  flowers,  geometric  fig- 
ures, hexagons  and  octagons,  flower-stalks  and  brilliant 
colors  intertwined  and  meandering  to  infinity,  called 
Arabesques^  so  that  the  palace  walls  came  to  look  like  a 
"  Cashmere  shawl  illuminated." 

In  the  first  period,  Byzantine  influence  was  dominant 
from  the  eighth  to  the  tenth  centuries  ;  in  the  second, 
this  influence  vanishes  imperceptibly :  rich  and  peculiar 


ornamentation  invades  the  unimpassioned  and  symmet- 
rical architecture  of  Greece  and  Rome  with  a  torrent 
of  imagery;  and  in  the  third,  buildings  seemed  con- 
structed solely  for  the  arabesques. 

Arabian  baths  in  Gerona,  Barcelona,  and  other  places, 
and  the  mosque  of  Cordova,  are  the  most  perfect  types 
of  the  first  period,  when  the  Moslems  constructed  their 
public  buildings  largely  at  the  expense  of  antiquity, 
utilized  their  materials  awkwardly,  and  aimed  at  sen- 
sational effects,  produced  by  the  sudden  presentation  of 
a  multiplicity  of  columns  — as  in  the  mosque  of  Cor- 
dova —  to  the  observer  as  he  entered. 

The  mihrab,  or  chapel  of  this  mosque,  crowned  by 
its  perfect  dome,  and  decorated  with  an  ethereal  ele- 
gance elsewhere  unrivalled,  is  the  best  type  of  the 
second  period,  in  its  transition  from  the  mosque  of 
Cordova  to  the  Moorish  Alhambra.  The  horse-shoe 
arch  vanishes  more  and  more  into  the  ogive ;  the 
Byzantine  ornaments  give  way  to  costly  decorations 
of  more  recherche  form.  Glass  mosaic,  or  mosaic  of 
colored  paste,  and  sculptured  marble,  are  withdrawn  from 
the  walls  and  half-orange  domes ;  new  combinations  of 
regular  figures  made  of  enamelled /^/>«r^  take  their  place  ; 
Arabic  inscriptions  in  marble  or  mosaic  meander  around 
the  domes.  Such  are  features  of  the  Giralda  tower, 
and  the  ancient  mosque  at  Seville,  the  Alcazar  at  Se- 
ville in  its  older  parts,  the  mihrab  of  Cordova,  and  the 
architecture  of  Tunis  and  Morocco. 

The  contact  of  the  Spanish  and  African  Moslems, 
under  Abderaman  III.,  and  during  the  following  cen- 
turies, after  the  dissolution  of  the  Khalifate  ;  the  arrival 
of  the  fierce  Morabites,  under  Yusouf,  and  their  con- 


ir 


124 


Spain  under  the   Omaiyades, 


flict  with  Alfonso  VI.,  converted  Arabian  and  Syrian 
Spain  into  a  Moorish  or  African  kingdom.  The  taste 
in  art  and  architecture  seems  to  have  gone  hand  in 
hand  with  the  poUtical  vicissitudes  of  the  times. 

The  hills  of  Granada  became  the  centre  of  a  fan- 
tastic, but  wonderfully  original  development  in  archi- 
tecture, after  the  glory  of  Cordova  had  passed  away. 
Extravagant  pomp  of  adornment,  vaulted  roofs  glistening 
with  stalactitic  pendents,  walls  cased  in  a  dazzling  armor 
of  many-colored  faience,  arched  galleries  hung  between 
pillars  like  stucco  draperies  and  blossom-garlands,  courts 
filled  with  slender-throated  pillars  that  arrange  them- 
selves in  multifold  combinations  before  the  eyes  of  the 
beholder,  geometric  ceilings,  star-shaped,  blazing  with 
representations  of  the  heavens  in  gold  and  tint,  domes 
and  cupolas  uplifted  on  airy  pillars,  too  slight  for  their 
burdens ;  in  short,  an  architecture  whose  object  seems 
to  be  to  realize  a  hasheesh  dream,  and  build  over  great 
spaces  of  golden  sunlight,  wherein  voluptuaries,  en- 
shrined as  it  were  in  the  irradiation,  might  dream  away 
a  life-time  of  fantastic  reverie,  and  have  but  to  look 
above  to  see  their  visions  incarnated. 

The  Arab  architecture  literally  blossomed  itself  to 
death,  and  the  Vermilion  towers  of  the  Alhambra,  with 
their  walls  eighteen  feet  thick,  were  its  burial  place.  — 
The  basis  of  the  Mussulman  legislation  is  the  Koran, 
and  it  is  due  to  the  immutability  of  this  volume  that 
this  legislation  has  not  changed  in  1200  years.  What 
strikes  an  observer  in  the  system,  is  the  omnipotence 
of  a  code  that  embraces  everything,  from  health  to  the 
houris  of  Paradise ;  its  absolutism,  and  the  predomi- 
nance of  the  religious  principle  in  it.     Proselytism  was 


I    '-\  L  l\J    UH,     i^Ui     i-iilW^M^.O     ^V^Vy  V^  IN.  •».      ^  i-       -L-ilv  /^x  .  ■;,    ^-ii^ii.-Vi.iiJi-t-i. 


The  Laws  of  the  Koran, 


127 


the  essence  of   the  endless  migrations  and  conquests 
of  the  Arabs,  and  though  other  religions  were  tolerated 
under  the  shadow  of  Isldm,  it  did  not  borrow  even  the 
slightest  ceremonial  from  any  of  them  after  it  had  once 
hardened  into  the   inflexible   organization  left  by  Ma- 
homet    High-priests,  sovereigns,  legislators,  judges,  and 
generals,  in  one,  his  followers  during  the  Khalifate,  con- 
centrated powers  of  every  sort  in   a  single  hand,  and 
that  hand  wielded  the  sceptre  of  God's  vicegerent.     A 
perpetual  confusion  hence  arose  between  their  religion 
and  their  law,  the  changelessness  of    the  one  affected 
the  other,  and,  while  the  people  themselves  developed, 
not  a  syllable  of  the  Koran  changed  from  the  foundation 
of  the  earliest  Khalifate.     The  text  of  the  Koran  itself, 
and  the  sunnas,  or  traditions,  are  the  two-fold  pillars 
upon   which   the   Mussulman   law   rests.      The   sunnas 
supplement  the  Koran,  consist  of  precepts  gathered  by 
tradition    from  the  mouth  of    the    prophet,   and   have 
been  overlaid  by  the    countless    commentaries   of   the 
four  great    orthodox    Mussulman    doctors,    Haneefah, 
Melee,  Shafei,  and   Hannbal.     It  is  said  of  Haneefah, 
that  while  in  prison  he  read  the  Koran  seven  thousand 
times  !   Turkey,  Tartary,  and  Hindostan,  are  the  present 
seats  of  his  doctrine  more  especially ;  Melee's  doctrine 
ruled   in    Spain;    Shafei's  in  Arabia   and  Egypt;   and 
Hannbal's  in  certain  corners  of  Arabia. 

The  Mahometan  heretics  are  more  numerous  than 
the  true  believers ;  the  four  orthodoxies  are  combated 
by  as  many  heterodoxies  :  those  who  deny  the  eternity 
of  God's  attributes  as  incompatible  with  the  unity  of 
God,  predestination,  eternal  punishment,  and  the  Koran  ; 
the  stubborn  defenders  of  these  doctrines  as  essential 


128 


Spain  under  the    Omaiyades. 


Moslem  G-overnment. 


129 


fr 


! 


to  the  divine  essence  :  the  rebek  .^r  .i 

rafArl  fi,«        1        .  reoeis,  or  those  who  sem- 

Adoration  and  P-^^,/  a/^^^<.  .^^  ,L  ,      ,  '^  '"'''''''^• 
ions  of  the  law;  but  Z^r.Ir        ^™''=>«'«"f=>l  divis- 
nite  and  it  will    ^"'."'^"^  *"b-duis.ons  are  almost  infi- 

deSil      t1       ,       ™P°'''''''^  '°  f°"°^^  them  out  in 

sanctioned  n  tt  «r"l"     concubinage,  already 

allotted  an  "f    iorpo: S  t'l      "  '^'""'^'"  ^P^^^'  '' 
assicrned  Pvf«      °'P°''"°"  "^  ^^omen,  permitted  divorce 
assigned  extensive  po^ver  to  the  father  hhr.,    u 
was  not  a  //im<r  as  in  th^  p  ,  (though  a  son 

'a>  as  m  the  Roman  law  and  h.-o  i;<- 
"ot  inhisfntfiPr'c  I,,    i\        ■       '  "'*^' ana  nis  life  was 

the  Christian  Tnti.      t?  •      ^'  ^^^  Roman  or 

to  iciny  neitner  tor  the  Mos  em  nor  for  hk  tr-;u  ^ 
since  all  was  the   Khalifs  and   the  K     rf  T"^' 

lieutenant      But    Utt].  k     r   ,  '^^'^  '"^^^  ^^^^'^ 

the  Arab  chiefs    t"'eo„;  :::;/?  ^^f  '""'^^^  "^ 
tary,  and  property  "  b  lonjn,  1  p'h  '    !,'""'  '"^''- 

was  freely  transnLd;rfo;:rSn^tpo'i:,!n;: 


name 


Allah  of  the  fortunes  and  lives  of  his  subjects, 
and  thus  instability  and  uncertainty,  resulting  from 
vague  generalizations,  kept  the  whole  of  Moslem  society 
in  continual  uneasiness. 

The  law  tolerated  retaliation,  blood-vengeance,  and 
commutation  by  fine  ;  eternal  vengeance  pursued  mur- 
derers •  suicide  was  made  infamous ;  theft  was  pun- 
ished by  mutilation,  though  by  degrees  this  horrible 
retaliation  was  converted  into  imprisonment  or  the 
bastinado.  "  The  rod,"  says  the  Koran,  "  is  an  instru- 
ment descended  from  heaven."  Adulterers  were  stoned 
to  death,  though  this  happens  but  rarely  now  ;  infanti- 
cide recognized  in  the  codes  of  Sparta,  the  laws  of 
Solon  at  Rome,  and  under  the  empire,  was  an  abomina- 
tion to  Mahomet,  who  insisted  on  the  sacredness  of 
human  life.  Eighty  lashes  reminded  the  wine-bibber  of 
his  guilt,  if  his  breath  betrayed  him. 

The  organization  of  the  Moslem  judiciary  was  in  out- 
line as  follows  :  The  dignity  mdi  or  judge  was  of  spe- 
cial sacredness  in  the  eyes  of  Mahomet.  The  cadi  must 
be  distinguished  by  purity,  impartiality,  rectitude,  and 
knowledge  of  the  law  and  theology.  He  was  without 
re-ular  salary ;  his  decisions  were  irrevocable  and  with- 
ou°t  appeal ;  simony  or  bribery  in  him  were  punishable 
with  removal ;  receiving  of  presents,  communication 
with  the  parties,  influencing  of  witnesses,  and  decision 
in  favor  of  his  own  relations,  were  forbidden. 

A  supreme  tribunal,  called  the  Mdi  of  ^dis,  consti- 
tuted a  court  of  highest  instance  which  in  doubtful  cases 
judged  the  process,  the  sentence  and  the  judge.  Appeal 
was  in  certain  cases  allowed  to  the  sovereign.  The  tes- 
timony of  slaves   or  infidels   against  Mussulmans  was 


JnKli'  ."WMi  HHWPI 


i 


130 


Spain  under  the  Omaiyades. 


fi 


tatlr'L  ?'  "'"  ""  ^"'^'^'^  •'y  ^  -«  °f  consul- 
tatue  jury  who  were  present  at  trials  and  <.ave  their 

adv:ce  when  asked.     The  numerous  descendant    of  the 
prophe  -agnation  within  a  nation  "- en  loved  cer 
ta.n  prnuleges  supervised  by  a  nakit,  or  protector 

i^uch  are  some  of  the  cardinal  points  of  the  Mussul 

man  law  as  laid  down  in  the  commentators,  Iho  hTv e 

developed  a  complicated  organism  out  of  the  girms  co„ 

anedmthe  Koran.     Reminiscences  of  it  su^Xe   "" 

Chnsnan  Spain  even  to-day,  and  the  language  is  full  if 

words  denved  from  the  Arabic  designations."^  ° 

rhe  regular  revenues  of  the  state  under  the  Omai- 

yades,  seem  to  have  been  equal  to  about  forty  miZ 

dollars  from  which  are  excluded  extraordinary  leWe   in 

case  of  war  or  for  public  buildin<.s 

The  wealth  and  prosperity  of'the  country  under  thi. 

dynasty  have  been  called  fabulous     a^h<^  n^      . 

creased  flnilv      ti       .   "  _ ''""'°"s.     i  he  population   n- 

for  slk  CO  ton  l,    /"f  °'"  ""'  '""  °^  nianufactories 
tor  silk  cotton,  and  cloth ;  the  cultivation  of  indijro  and 

he  cochineal,  the  production  of  beautiful  fakZ  t  ,e 

ntroduction  of  paper  into  Spain  in  the  twelfth  cmuit 

he  substitution  of   linen  for  cotton  in   the  d  ess  of  tJS 

stidious  Arabs,  the  working  of   the   mines   of  ^J'd 

sdver^  and  mercury,  the  sifting  of  the  auriferous  sand  of 

tl^e  Darro  in  the  Vega  of  Granada,  the  discovery  of 

coast  ot   Andalusia,   of   nearlQ  nf  ^^ 
"JHzation   of   the  wonde^LT  ^^ ^-;i;- 
which  produced  the  finest  salt  in  Europe  brou^h      he 
counto'  to  a  high  state  of  prosperity  ^      *' 

Agriculture   had   made    immense    progress  •     exotir 
plants  were  introduced  in  numbers;  the 'balm;  flZs 


Moslem  Agriculture, 


131 


of  the  Orient,  as  much  prized  for  their  beauty  of  form 
and  color  as  for  their  perfume,  spiced  the  air.  Abde- 
raman  wrote  an  exquisite  poem  on  the  palm,  which  he 
introduced,  and  which  came  to  grow  in  tens  of  thou- 
sands near  Elche.  The  Spanish  rice  and  saffron  are 
memorials  of  Arabian  care  for  foreign  products.  Val- 
encia, the  picturesque  Vega  of  Granada,  —  thirty  leagues 
of  orange  and  olive  gardens,  watered  by  five  rivers,  — 
and  the  basin  of  the  Guadalquivir,  with  its  thousands 
of  villages,  became  lovely  oases  endowed  with  a  match- 
less fertility. 

Under  Hacam  the  most  illustrious  sheiks  gloried  in 
cultivating  their  own  gardens ;  the  cadis  and  faquis  de- 
lighted in  the  shadow  of  their  own  vines.  In  the  spring 
and  autumn  the  country  seats  were  filled  with  brilliant 
figures  —  merchants,  townspeople,  students  —  leaving 
the  towns  and  cities,  to  pass  a  few  months  in  the  sylvan 
solitude  of  the  sierras.  Vast  herds  of  cattle  and  sheep 
kept  up  the  recollections  of  the  desert,  by  their  wander- 
ings from  province  to  province  in  search  of  pasture  as 
the  seasons  changed.  The  shepherds  thus  kept  up  an 
errant  manner  of  life,  which,  from  unknowm  antiquity, 
had  been  peculiar  to  Irac,  Chaldaea,  and  Egypt,  and  at 
the  same  time  maintained  the  reputation  of  the  Spanish 
fleeces  as  the  best  in  the  world. 

Arabian  conquest  had  been  rendered  easy  by  means 
of  the  roads  already  traced  out  by  the  innumerable  car- 
avans crossing  and  re-crossing  the  peninsula  to  India, 
Persia,  and  the  Sahara ;  and  these  conquests  necessi- 
tated the  establishment  of  fleets,  to  maintain  the  Mus- 
sulman power  in  the  southern  Mediterranean. 

The  establishment  of  rival  dynasties   of  Abbasides 


132 


I 


Spain  under  the  Omaiyades. 


and  Omaiyades,  in  the  East  and  the  West,  much  as  their 
khalifs  despised  each  other,  could  not  crush  out  the 
strong  commercial  instincts  of  the  people.     Silk,  wool, 
oil,  sugar,  amber,  cochineal,  iron,  and  the  finely-tempered 
arms  of  Toledo  and   Cordova,  were  exchanged  for  the 
luxuries,  slaves,  and  spices  of   Syria   and  the    Indies 
Great  mercantile  ports   like   Barcelona,   Valencia,   and 
Almeria,  became  the  mediums  of  communication  with 
Europe  and  Africa,  uninterrupted  even  after  the  fall  of 
the  khalifate.     A  thousand  merchant  vessels,  it  is  said, 
sprinkled  the  sea  with  the  countless  yield  of  the  new 
conquests. 

Beautiful  Greek  slaves,  skilled  in  music  and  dancing, 
peopled  the  harems  of  the  Orient  and  were  a  source  of 
wealth  to  the  Andalusian  merchants.  Eunuchs  to  guard 
the  harems  —  chiefly  Europeans  and  negroes  — were 
manufactured  in  hundreds  at  Verdun  and  sent  to  Cor- 
dova to  form  part  of  the  Khalifs  guard. 

The  prodigious  fertility  of  the  country  is  said  to  have 
supported   a   population    at   this  time   correspondingly 
great.     Under  Augustus  the  population  of  Spain  was 
claimed  to   be  seventy  millions,   and    Spain  itself  was 
called  "the  countr}^  of  the  thousand  cities."     The  cities 
were  numerous,  especially  along  the  eastern  and  southern 
coasts,  nearest  to  Carthage  and  Rome.      Moslem  super- 
stition objected  to  a  census  ;  hence  we  cannot  determine 
more  than  approximately  what  the    population  was  at 
the  height  of  the  Omaiyade  dynasty.      The  Almoravide 
Yusouf  boasted  that  the  chotbah  was  recited  for  him 
from  nineteen  thousand  pulpits.     The  frequent  famines 
go  to  prove   indirectly  the  populousness  of   the  land. 
The    vassal    population    was    very    large;    Christians 


Moslem  Chivalry  and  Religion, 


133 


abounded  at  Toledo,  Cordova,  Merida,  and  Barcelona, 
and  Jews  in  great  numbers  were  settled  in  Spain,  and 
are  found  interested  in  all  the  seditions  against  the 
the  Khalifate. 

Perpetual  war  against  the  Christians  —  the  "holy 
war"  —  was  considered  eminently  praiseworthy  in  the 
sight  of  Allah.  The  usual  tolerance  of  the  Mussulmans 
here  snapped  violently  asunder,  and  religious  hate,  ac- 
companied by  frightful  devastations,  led  to  sanguinary 
encounters  through  seven  centuries.  Both  slaves  and 
Christians,  however,  were  numerous  in  the  Mussulman 
armies.  The  Khalifs  body  guard,  twelve  thousand 
strong,  for  the  most  part  foreigners,  were  the  only  pro- 
fessional soldiers  ;  a  corps  blazing  with  costly  arms  and 
gold,  instituted  for  the  personal  defence  of  the  sovereign 
alone  and  devoted  to  his  interests. 

The  institutions  of  chivalry  were  peculiar  to  Christian 
Europe,  and  hardly  appeared  among  the  Mussulmans 
till  the  downfall  of  the  Omaiyades  ;  jousts,  tourneys, 
tilts  of  reeds,  were  favorite  sports  of  the  Arabs;  broad- 
sword, lance,  bow,  and  mace,  were  the  arms  of  the 
Andalusians.  Groups  of  turbaned  warriors,  seated  on 
high,  richly-mounted  saddles,  with  distinguishing  colors 
for  each  tribe,  and  clad  in  fluttering  mantles,  dashed 
gallantly  on  the  heavy  Christian  cavalry  and  often  put 
it  to  rout.  The  Arabian  horsemanship  was  famous. 
In  1 02 2,  a  sort  of  national  guard,  composed  of  burgher 
militia,  was  formed  for  the  protection  of  the  cities, 
streets,  and  quarters. 

Isldm^  "  perfect  resignation  of  soul  and  body  to  the 
will  of  God,"  is  the  quintessence  of  Mahometan  fatal- 
ism, and  its  atmosphere  pervades  the  whole  system,  from 


134 


Spain  under  the  Omaiyades, 


\  S 


one  end  of  it  to  the  other.  The  Mahometans  form  a 
vast  family  despotically  ruled  by  God's  deputy,  the 
Khalif ;  in  him  religious  and  political  chiefship  alike  are 
centred,  and  a  pure  and  absolute  despotism  is  the  re- 
sult. Blind  submission  belongs  to  the  sovereign,  and 
his  power  cannot  be  divided  with  another  sovereign. 
"The  prophet's  scabbard,"  said  Mahomet,  "might  as 
well  have  contained  two  swords,  as  his  empire  two 
kings." 

The  prime  minister,  oxhMjib,  was  the  most  direct  dep- 
uty of  the  Khalif,  and  that  his  power  could  become 
great  and  terrible  we  see  in  the  case  of  Almansor,  had- 
jib  of  Hicham  II.  He  was  the  first  subject  of  the 
kingdom  and  owed  his  elevation  entirely  to  the  caprice 
of  the  sovereign. 

The  principal  dignitaries  after  the  hadjib  were  the 
lieutenants  of  the  provinces,  who  held  in  their  hands 
all  civil  and  military  functions.  Emir  or  Amil^  was  the 
name  given  to  them;  they  had  under  them  twelve  gov- 
ernors of  the  twelve  principal  cities,  and  twenty-four 
viziers  (burden-bearers).  Then  came  the  chiefship' of 
the  Khalif's  guard,  ordinarily  entrusted  to  some  mem- 
ber of  his  family ;  the  commanders  of  the  cavalry  and 
infantry;  the  alcaides,  or  governors  of  fortresses,  and 
the  sheiks,  or  tribal  chieftains,  who  still  maintained  the 
patriarchal  empire  and  classifications  of  the  desert. 

The  chief  civil  magistrates,  in  a  system  in  which  the 
functions  of  citizen  and  soldier  were  but  confusedly 
perceived  and  discriminated,  were  the  cadi  or  judge,  the 
mufti  ox  counsellor,  the  ulemas  (scientific  body),  and  the 
faquis  or  jurisconsults  (both  of  which  last  classes  were 
charged  with   the   religious  and   judicial    instruction  of 


V 


The  Khalifas  Power. 


137 


youth);  and  the  market  inspectors,  tax-gatherers,  and 
tax-distributors. 

The  divan  or  council  of  state  of  the  Khalifs,  was  a 
purely  consultative  body ;  but  under  the  Andalusian 
Omaiyades  it  took  cognizance  of  the  army,  of  imposts, 
and  of  the  administration  of  the  finances. 

A  civil  and  religious  police  growing  out  of  the  con- 
tinual confusion  between  law  and  religion  existed  side 
by  side ;  the  first  a  body  who  watched  over  the  public 
security,  weights  and  measures,  the  professions,  com- 
merce, roads,  and  markets  ;  the  other,  more  or  less 
inquisitorial,  and  devoted  to  the  domain  of  conscience. 

All  power  is  thus  seen  to  emanate  directly  from  the 
Khalif,  through  a  complicated  hierarchj^  of  delegated 
servants ;  all  rights  descend  from,  none  ascend  to,  the 
Khalif,  who  is  the  apex  of  the  pyramid.  There  is  no 
regular  clergy,  for  the  head  of  the  state  is  equally  the 
head  of  the  faith  and  its  supreme  interpreter,  and 
those  beneath  him  hold  merely  spiritual  lieutenancies. 
All  functions  are  temporary,  revocable  at  his  will ;  there 
is  no  notion  of  representation  on  the  side  of  \\\e  people^ 
though  the  Khalif  is  minutely  and  omnipresently  rep- 
resented. 


Chronological  Table  froj?t  the  Berber  Conquest  to  the  Fall 

of  the  Omaiyades. 

Kingdom  of  Cordova. 

711-755.     Spain   governed    by    Emirs  dependent  on 

Damascus. 
755-788.  Abderaman  I. 
788-796.     Hicham  1 


138 

796-822. 
822-852. 
852-886. 
886-888. 
888-912. 


Chronological  Table. 

Hacam  I. 
Abderamaii  II. 
Mohammed  I. 
Mondhir. 
Abdallah. 


Khalifate  of  Cordova. 

912-961.     Abderaman  III. 

961-976.      Hacam  II. 

976-1009  (.?)  Hicham  II.  (Almansor  —  Modjaffar — 

Abderaman  hddjibs) 
1 009-1 010.  Mohammed  II.  Mahdi. 
ioio(.^)-ioi6.     Solaiman. 


1016-1018.     Ali-ibn-Hammoud,  )   Alcasim- 
ioi8(?)-io23.    Abderaman  IV.,  )     Yahia, 


Ed  ri  side 
dynasty. 


1 023-1 023.  Abderaman  V. 

1 024-1 025.  Mohammed  III. 

1025-1026.  Yahia  (second  time  Khalif). 

1027-1031.  Hicham  III.     (Last  of  the  Omaiyades.) 


1085-1109.     Ahiioravide  Conquest.  (Battle  of  Zallaca.) 
1 106.  Death  of  the  Ahnoravide  Emir  Yoiisof. 


1130-1163. 

1162. 

1163-1184. 

1195- 
1199-1213. 

1213-1236. 

1247-1492. 


Almohade  Conquest. 

Death  of  Abdehnoumen. 

Almohade    lEmir     Yousofi.     (Battle    of 

Marcos.) 
Emir  Yacoub. 

Emir  Mohammed.  (Battle  of  Las  Navas.) 
Decline  and  fall  of  the  Almohade  Empire. 
Emirate  of  Granada  as  vassal  to  Castile. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CHRISTIAN    SPAIN     TO     THE     ALMORAVIDE     CON- 
QUEST. 

THE  first  hundred  years  after  the  Berber  conquest 
have  a  three-fold  importance,  and  were  filled 
with  events  which  controlled  and  moulded  the  destinies 
of  the  country,  down  to  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella. Such  were  the  founding  of  a  new  Christian 
kingdom  in  the  Asturias,  the  founding  of  an  independent 
Arabian  power  at  Cordova,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
Frankish  March  in  the  north-east  of  the  peninsula. 

The  fatal  battle  of  the  Guadalete,  in  711,  which 
legend  has  illuminated  with  the  glitter  of  Roderic's 
golden  sandals  and  at  which  the  last  of  the  Goths  laid 
down  his  crown  and  life,  opened  the  peninsula  to  the 
Moslem  hordes,  who  penetrated  and  conquered  every 
part  of  it  except  the  narrow  strip  of  the  Asturias.  The 
Asturian  and  Cantabrian  mountains  had  always  been  a 
barrier  insurmountable  to  conquest.  Phenicians  and 
Carthaginians  had  failed  in  their  attempts  to  subjugate 
the  invincible  mountaineers  of  that  region  \  it  cost  Rome 
two  hundred  years  to  break  their  spirit ;  and  the  Goths 
succeeded,  only  after  repeated  attempts,  in  establishing 
themselves  in  those  districts.  To  this  inaccessible 
nook  the  Christians  fled,  betrayed  by  their  own  people 
and  scandalously  routed  by  a  handful  of  barbarians. 

139 


i  4 
I 


140   Christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest, 

ill  this  case  ex  septentrione  lux ;  for  out  of  this  germ 
developed  the  principaHties  of  Christian  Spain  which 
spread  along  the  Pyrenees  to  Barcelona,  extended  west- 
ward to  Galicia  and  Portugal,  and  in  little  more  than  a 
hundred  years  covered  the  whole  north  of  Spain. 

Intimately  connected  with  the  beginning  of  this  new 
power  is  the  legend  of  Pelagius,  the    Don  Pelayo  of 
Spanish    stor>^    reputed    son  of   the   Fafila,   Duke  of 
Cantabria,  who,  banished  from  court  by  Egica,  was  slain 
in  Galicia  by  Witica.     Pelayo  fled  to  the  mountains  of 
Cantabria,  then  returned  from  banishment,  served  Rod- 
eric  as  sword-bearer,  survived  the  disaster  of  the  Gua- 
dalete,  and  retreated,  with  a  remnant  of  his  followers,  to 
Asturias.     Here  he  founds  a  little  kingdom  close  upon 
the  confines  of  the  Moslem  power ;  he  hides  in  caves, 
bursts  from  time  to  time  victoriously  forth  on  the  hosts 
of  Alchama,  the  Moslem  governor,  fills  the  river  Deva 
with  the  arms  and  bodies  of  the  misbelievers,  is  pro- 
claimed king  by  the  enthusiastic  Asturians,  reigns  nine- 
teen years,  and  is  buried  in  Cangas  by  the  side  of  his 
queen  Gaudiosa. 

Such  is  but  one  of  the  countless  legends  that  hang, 
thick  as  vines,  about  Pelayo  and  his  doughty  deeds.  It 
is  perhaps  hopeless  to  attempt  a  reconciliation  of  the 
contradictions  existing  between  the  statements  of  the 
Arabian  and  Christian  chronicles  concerning  him.  All 
we  know  is  that,  for  whatever  reason,  Pelayo 's  name  be- 
came celebrated  among  his  immediate  successors  as  the 
heroic  founder  of  the  new  Asturian  kingdom,  and  his 
memory  glorious  as  the  first  national  champion  of  re- 
generated Spain. 

The   two  yearL'  reign  of  Fafila,   his  son,  was  tragi- 


Alfonso  the  Catholic. 


141 


cally  closed  in  an  encounter  jvith  a  bear.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  brother-in-law,  Alfonso  I.,  who  united 
the  whole  sea-coast  of  Cantabria,  as  far  as  the  Basque 
country,  with  the  realm  to  which  he  had  been  newly 
elected,  and  triumphantly  maintained  the  reputation  of 
the  Christian  arms.  We  find  him  building  churches 
and  cloisters,  laying  out  new  towns,  winning  the  love  of 
his  people  by  his  wisdom  and  valor,  acquiring  the  sur- 
name of  "  the  Catholic  "  by  his  piety,  reigning  eighteen 
years  with  skill  and  conscientiousness,  and  even  after 
death  in  possession  of  a  wonder-working  body. 

His  reign  emerges  from  the  general  obscurity  of  the 
rise  of  the  kingdom  of  Leon  and  Asturias  as  one  of  sin- 
gular importance.  The  kingdom  under  him  showed  a 
sudden  growth,  attributed  by  the  Latin  chronicles  to 
Alfonso  himself,  who  with  his  speck  of  a  principality, 
miraculously  beat  the  Mussulmans,  captured  numbers 
of  cities,  and  pushed  back  the  enemy  over  the  Duero, 
Mondego,  and  Tagus.  The  Arabian  chronicles,  with 
greater  probability,  attribute  the  sudden  growth  of  Al- 
fonso's power  to  two  very  intelligible  causes  ;  a  civil 
war  among  the  Mussulmans  themselves,  and  a  frightful 

famine. 

The  conquerors  settled  in  the  provinces  adjacent  to 
Asturias  were  not  Arabs  but  Berbers,  who  were  solidly 
established  in  every  town  in  Galicia,  and  were  the  true 
conquerors  of  the  peninsula.  The  Arabs,  however,  their 
bitter  foes,  had  appropriated  the  choicest  portion  of  the 
booty,  kept  the  lovely  and  opulent  fields  of  Andalusia 
for  themselves,  and  banished  Taric  and  his  Berbers  to 
the  sterile  plains  of  La  Mancha,  Estremadura,  and  the 
precipices  of  Leon,  Asturias,  and  Galicia.     The  Arabs 


I' 


f     » 


a 


142   Christian  Spaiyi  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest, 

themselves  treated  their  Berber  allies  with  the  greatest 
cruelty  ;  scourged  and  tortured  them  when  they  had 
ransomed  Christians,  and  cast  them  into  filthy  dun- 
geons swarming  with  animalcules,  there  to  linger  and 
languish. 

Hence  the  intense  irritation  of  the  Berbers  of  Spain 
against  the  Arabs,  which  was  envenomed  still  further 
by  a  religious  and  political   insurrection  that  broke  out 
in  Africa,  now  ferociously  oppressed  by  the  Arabs.  The 
insurrection    spread    to    Spain,   broke    out   in    Galicia, 
communicated  itself  to  the  whole  of  the  north  except 
Saragossa,  where  the  Arabs  were  in  the  ascendant,  and 
ended  in  the   temporary  defeat   and  expulsion  of   the 
Arabs.     Then   the   Berbers   of  Galicia,  Merida,   Coria, 
and   Talavera  marched  against  the   south,  w^here   they 
were  beaten ;  a  five-years'  famine  (750)  decimated  their 
ranks,    and   the   majority   resolved   to    emigrate   from 
Spain.     Their  embarkation  took  place  from   the  river 
Barbato;   hence   these   disastrous  years  are  called   by 
them  ''  the  years  of  the  Barbato." 

Tyranny,  religious  persecution,  and  hunger,  therefore, 
were  Alfonso's  ablest  allies  in  these  early  struggles. 
The  Galicians  profited  by  the  emigration  to  rise  against 
the  remnant  of  their  oppressors  in  751,  and  recognized 
Alfonso  as  their  kmg.  The  traces  of  the  Mussulmans 
vanished  from  the  regions  they  had  so  lately  inhabited  ; 
the  apostate  Christians  returned  eagerly  within  the  pale 
of  the  church,  and  in  753  the  retiring  barbarians  evacu- 
ated Braga,  Porto,  and  Viseu,  leaving  the  whole  coast 
beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Duero,  liberated  from  their 
yoke.  Unable  to  maintam  themselves  in  Astorga,  Leon, 
Zamora,   Ledesma,  and  Salamanca,  they  retreated  on 


1 


INTERIOR  Ui^    iriE  MOSQUE  OF    CORDOVA. 


Mussulman  .Dominion  narrowed. 


145 


Coria  and  Merida.  In  the  east  they  abandoned  Sal- 
dana,  Simancas,  Segovia,  Avila,  Miranda  on  the  Ebro, 
and  Oca ;  so  that  Coimbra  in  Portugal,  Talavera  and 
Toledo  on  the  Tagus,  and  Guadalaxara,  Tudela,  and 
Pampelona  became  their  principal  frontier  cities,  run- 
ning from  west  to  east. 

This  was  the  manner  in  which  the  Mussulman  domi- 
nation, after  an  occupation  of  forty  years,  narrowed 
more  and  more,  and  concentrated  itself  in  the  fertile 
and  beautiful  regions  of  the  south  and  east.  Alfonso 
did  not  conquer  these  numerous  and  strong  cities: 
they  were  abandoned,  and  welcomed  the  Christian 
champion  with  open  arms.  He  even  profited  little  by 
all  these  advantages  ;  put  the  remaining  Mussulmans  to 
the  sword ;  carried  off  the  Christian  populations  to 
re-people  the  devastated  north  ;  and  occupied,  of  all  the 
abandoned  territory,  only  old  Castile  (then  called 
Bardulid),  the  coast  of  Galicia,  and  perhaps  the  city  of 
Leon.  The  rest  was  left  a  desert  which  formed  an 
admirable  natural  barrier  between  the  Christians  of  the 
north  and  the  infidels  of  the  south.  Even  large  cities 
like  Astorga  and  Tuy  waited  a  century  (850)  before 
they  were  repeopled  under  Ordono  I. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Astorga  and  Leon,  neverthe- 
less, the  Berbers  maintained  themselves  for  nearly  a 
century.  The  country  they  inhabited,  which  formed 
part  of  the  Campi  Gothici,  was  baptized  by  Christian 
horror  with  the  name  of  Malacoiitia  (Mala  Gothia), 
"  servants  of  the  devil  and  sons  of  perdition."  Their 
Christianization  was  always  suspicious,  and  after  a 
thousand  years  their  stammering  Spanish,  shaven 
crowns,  customs,  dress,  and  accent,  show  these  Marago- 


afeflbaaMgijw^£«itai:aii^.ihflat*.i>i«i 


146   Christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest, 

tas  (malagoutas)  muleteers,  to  the  southeast  of  Astorga, 
to  have  the  narrowest  of  affinities  with  their  Berber 
brethren  in  Africa. 

The   conquest   of     Narbonne   from   the   Arabs,    by 
Pippin,  in  759,  made  an  end  to, Arabian   influence  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Pyrenees,  and  opened  the  penin- 
sula to  his  mighty  son,    Charlemagne.      Charlemagne 
crossed  the  mountains  by  way  of  Aquitania  and  Na- 
varre, overwhelmed  Pampelona,  whose  walls  he  levelled 
on  his  return,  received  the  homage  of  the  Arabian  gov- 
ernor of  Oca,  and  when  on  the  point  of  capturing  Sara- 
gossa,  was  recalled  by  a  new  insurrection  of  the  Saxons. 
In  the  narrow  pass  of  Roncesvalles  the  Basques,  headed 
apparently  by  Duke  Lupus  of  Aquitania,  cut  the  rear 
guard  of  the  withdrawing  army  to  pieces.      Eggihard, 
the  presider  over  the  royal  table,  Anselm  the  Palgrave,' 
and  Roland  of  the  Wonder-Horn,  Margrave  of  Brittany,' 
fell  in  this  celebrated  conflict,  immortalized  in  song  and 
legend.      The   absence   of    the    Franks    soon    caused 
Abderaman  to  reoccupy  the  land  between  the  Ebro  and 
the  Pyrenees. 

Connected  with  the  same  episode,  whose  success  was 
attributed  to  him,  is  the  musical  and  romantic  legend 
of  Bernardo  del  Carpio,  the  bastard  son  of  Dona  xlme- 
na,  sister  of  Alfonso  the  Chaste,  and  Sancho  Diaz,  Count 
of  Saldana  ;  a  legend  filled  with  improbabilities,  reck- 
less of  dates,  and  yet  replete  with  the  delicate  grace  of 
the  Spanish  ballad. 

"The  Count  Don  Sancho  Diaz,  the  Signior  of  Saldane, 
Lies  weeping  in  his  prison,  for  he  cannot  refrain. 
King  Alfonso  and  his  sister,  of  both  doth  he  complain, 
But  most  of  bold  Bernardo,  the  champion  of  Spain  !  "  ' 


Bernardo  del  Carpio, 


147 


According  to  the  chronicle  (pursues  the  chronicler 
of  one  of  the  episodes  of  his  life),  Bernardo,  being  at 
last  wearied  out  of  all  patience  by  the  cruelty  of  which 
his  father  was  the  victim,  determined  to  quit  the  court 
of  his  king  and  seek  an    alliance  among  the   Moors. 
Having  fortified   himself  in  the  castle  of    Carpio,  he 
made  continual  incursions  into  the  territory  of   Leon, 
pillaging  and  plundering  wherever  he  came.     The  king 
at  length  besieged  him  in   his  stronghold,  but  the  de- 
fence was  so  gallant  that  there  appeared  no  prospect  of 
success  ;  whereupon  many  of  the  gentlemen  of  Alfon- 
so's camp  entreated  the  king  to  ofTer  Bernardo  imme- 
diate possession   of  his  father's  person,    if   he   would 
surrender  his  castle.     Bernardo  at  once  consented,  but 
the  king  gave  orders  to  have  Count  Sancho  Diaz  taken 
off  instantly  in  his  prison.     When  he  was  dead,  they 
clothed  him  in  splendid  attire,  mounted   him  on  horse- 
back, and  so  led  him  towards  Salamanca,  where  his  son 
was  expecting  his  arrival.     As  they  drew  nigh  the  city 
the  king  and   Bernardo  rode  out  to  meet  them  ;   and 
when    Bernardo   saw   his   father    approaching,  he    ex- 
claimed, "  O  God  !    is   the    Count   of    Saldana  indeed 
coming?"      "Look    where    he    is,"    replied   the   cruel 
king,  "  and  now  go  and  greet  him  whom  you  so  long 
desired   to   see."      Bernardo  went   forward,    took    his 
father's  hand  to   kiss  it;   but  when  he  felt  the  dead 
weight  of  the  hand,  and  saw  the  livid  face  of  the  corpse, 
he  cried  aloud,  and  said,   "  Ah,  Don'  San   Diaz,  in  an 
evil  hour  didst  thou  beget  me  1     Thou  art  dead  and  I 
have  given  my  stronghold   for  thee,  and  now  I  have 

lost  all  ! " 

Froila  L  ascended  the  throne  on   the  death  of  his 


148   Christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest, 

father  Alfonso  I.     He  is  said  to  have  founded  Oviedo 
and   to  have   been   a   successful   and   valiant   captain 
against   the  Arabs,  fifty-four  thousand  (?)  of  whom  suc- 
cumbed to  him  at  Pontumium  in  Galicia.     The  murder 
of  his  own  brother  Vimaran,  brought  about  his  assassi- 
nation at  the  hands  of   the   grandees,  in    768.     They 
chose  in  his  stead  Aurelio,  son  of  Froila,  Alfonso  I  's 
brother  who  reigned  six  years,  and  left  few  traces  be- 
hind     Silo  husband  of  Adosinda,  daughter  of  Alfonso 
I.,  followed  with  a  peaceful  reign  of   nine  years,  and 
died  without  issue  in  783.     Alfonso  II.,  son  of  Alfonso 
the  Catholic,  was  now  proclaimed  king,  though  for  six 
years  pushed  aside  by  his  half-brother,   Maurecat,  an 
Illegitimate  son  of  Alfonso  the  Catholic,  who  died  in 
789.     Alfonso  was  then  proclaimed  king  for  the  second 
time,  the  first  time  having  been  at  the  instigation  of  his 
aunt,  Adosinda,  who,  instead  of  taking  the  veil  as  the 
widow  of  Silo,  according  to  an  ancient  custom  sanctioned 
by  a  council,  hoped,  by  establishing  her  young  nephew 
on  the  throne,  to  rule  herself.     After  a  two  years'  rei-n 
he  was  dethroned  by  the  church-deacon  Bermudo  I 
one  of  his  relations,  and  incarcerated  in  a  cloister    The 
monk  was  everywhere  defeated  by  the  victorious  troops 
of  Hicham  I.     Alfonso  was  drawn  out  of  his  retreat 
and  Bermudo  suddenly  remembered   that  he  could  not 
be  king  as  he  had  taken  orders.     The  Mussulmans  pil- 
^ged  and  destroyed  Alfonso's  capital  (794),-  probably 
Oviedo,  though    Silo  and   Maurecat  had    resided  else- 
where -  undertook  another  successful  raid  in  795  under 
Abd-al-carim,  ~  who  destroyed  the  capital  again  and  in- 
flicted  enormous  losses   on    the   "  polytheists "   (Chris- 
tians},-and  were  brilliantly  repaid  by  Alfonso's  capture 


Sto  James  of  Compostella. 


149 


and  pillaging  of  Lisbon  in  796,  and  the  dread  which  he 
inspired  by  his  alliance  with  the  formidable  Charle- 
magne. Charlemagne's  death  in  814  left  the  imperial 
throne  vacant.  It  was  filled  by  his  son  Louis,  who 
caused  his  second  son.  Pippin,  to  be  crowned  king  of 
Aquitania,  which  included  Aquitania  proper,  Vasconia, 
Toulouse,  Carcasone  in  Septimania,  and  Autun,  Ava- 
lon,  and  Nevers  in  Burgundy.  The  Spanish  March, 
founded  in  the  northeast  of  the  peninsula  by  the 
Franks,  was  separated  from  this  nwe  kingdom  and 
erected  into  an  independent  duchy  whose  capital  was 
Barcelona.  The  count  of  Barcelona  under  the  Prank- 
ish administration  became  also  duke  of  Septimania,  and 
recognized  only  the  emperor  and  his  eldest  son  as  his 

lords. 

Alfonso  II.,  called  the  Chaste,  after  a  reign  of  half  a 
century,  during  which  he  distinguished  himself  by  his 
piety  and  vigor,  died  in  the  repute  of  having  been  the 
founder  of  the  great  Spanish  sanctuary  of  Santiago,  at 
Compostella,  in  829.  In  his  day  was  discovered  the 
burial  place  of  the  Apostle  James  (lago),  whose  body, 
after  his  martyrdom  in  Palestine,  was  believed  to  have 
been  brought  by  his  devoted  followers  to  Spain  and 
buried  on  the  coast  of  Galicia.  Wondrous  radiance  and 
visions  of  angels  over  the  consecrated  spot  revealed  the 
tomb  to  the  Bishop  Theodomir,  who  hastened  to  the 
king  with  the  joyful  intelligence;  and  the  exemplary 
monarch  forthwith  built  a  church  for  the  reception  of 
the  relics,  richly  endowed  it  with  lands,  and  removed 
the  episcopal   see  of  Iria  to  the   new  foundation. 

The  building  up  of  church  and  state  thus  went  on 
slowly  and  laboriously,  from  decade  to  decade,  in  the 


1 M 


!  < 


150    Christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest, 

infant  kingdom.      'J'he  overthrown    cross   was  set   up 
again  ;   iron  priest  and  dauntless  warrior  fought  side  by 
side  against  the  common  foe ;  the  destroyed  temple  was 
rebuilt;    the  devastated  field  recultivated  ;    the  ruined 
town  rehabilitated.     Thus  it  continued  in  the  brief  but 
stirring  reign  of  Alfonso  II.'s  cousin  and  successor,  Ra- 
miro  (842-50),  who  quelled  many  conspiracies  against 
himself  ;  defeated  and  burnt  seventy  ships,  belonging  to 
the  Norman  pirates,  on  the  coast  of  Galicia;  consigned 
wizards  to  the  flames,  put  out  the  eyes  of  robbers,  built 
monasteries,  contended    successfully    against   Abdera- 
man's  armies,  and  won  for  himself  the  name  of  "  the 
Rod  of  Justice." 

"  A  cry  went  through  the  mountains  when  the  proud  Moor  drew 
near, 

And  trooping  to  Ramiro  came  every  Christian  spear  ; 
The  blessed  Saint  lago,  they  called  upon  his  name  :  — 
That  day  began  our  freedom,  and  wiped  away  our  shame." 

Such  is  the  concluding  verse  of  the  ballad  in  which 
Ramiro's  memor}^  is  gratefully  enshrined.     "  The  reign 
of  King  Ramiro  was  short  but  glorious.     He   had  not 
been  many  months  seated  on  the  throne  when  Abdera- 
man,  the  second  of  that  name,  sent  a  formal  embassy  to 
demand  payment  of  an  odious  and  ignominious  tribute, 
which  had  been  agreed  to  in  the  days  of  former  and 
weaker  princes,  but  which,  it  would  seem,  had  not  been 
exacted  by  the  Moors,  while  such  men  as  Bernardo  del 
Carpio  and  Alfonso  the  Great  headed  the  forces  of  the 
Christians.     This  tribute   was   a   hundred   virgins  />er 
annum.    King  Ramiro  refused  compliance  and  marched 
to    meet   the  army   of   Abderaman.      The    battle   was 


The  Maiden  Tribute. 


151 


fought  near  Alboyda  (or  Alveida),  and  lasted  for  two 
entire  days.  On  the  first  day  the  superior  discipline  of 
the  Saracen  chivalry  had  nearly  accomplished  a  com- 
plete victory,  when  the  approach  of  night  separated  the 
combatants.  During  the  night,  Saint  lago  stood  in  a 
vision  before  the  king,  and  promised  to  be  with  him 
next  morning  in  the  field.  Accordingly,  the  warlike 
apostle  made  his  appearance,  mounted  on  a  milk-white 
charger,  and  armed  cap-a-pie  in  radiant  mail,  like  a 
true  knight.  The  Moors  sustained  a  signal  defeat,  and 
the  "  Maiden  Tribute ''  was  never  afterwards  paid,  al- 
though often  enough  demanded." 

Ramiro  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Ordoiio  I.,  in  850, 
who  devoted  his  chief  care  to  the  restoration  and  re- 
peopling  of  the  cities  abandoned  by  Alfonso  I.,  defeated 
the  rebellious  Basques  and  the  Norman  pirates  (859), 
and  died,  leaving  a  pleasant  memory  to  his  famous  son 
and  follower,  Alfonso  III. 

Alfonso  had  been  associated  with  his  father  for  four 
years  in  the  government,  so  that  he  was  not  unpre- 
pared to  take  control  of  affairs  on  the  death  of  Ordono. 
He  pressed  further  into  the  dominions  of  the  Moors 
than  any  previous  Christian  prince.  Burgos,  the  bul- 
wark of  Spain  against  the  infidels  on  the  east  side,  rose 
into  prominence  during  his  reign,  and  he  strengthened 
his  possessions  by  the  building  of  numerous  fortresses 
and  castles.  A  marriage  with  Ximene,  daughter  of 
Garcias  Iniguez,  brought  him  into  intimate  association 
with  the  reigning  house  of  Navarre.  He  crossed  the 
Duero  and  conquered  the  chief  towns  of  Lusitania, 
pushing  his  conquests  to  the  vicinity  of  Merida  and  the 
Sierra  Morena.    Contending  with  continual  conspiracies 


u 
H 


^n 


152   Christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest. 

instigated  by  Count  Froila  and  his  own  brothers,  he 
suffered  the  further  mortification  of  seeing  his  son 
Garcias  and  his  wife  weaving  plots  against  him,  and 
finally  abdicated  in  favor  of  Garcias.  The  younger 
brother,  Ordono,  received  Galicia  ;  Froila  (Fruella),  As- 
turias ;  and  Garcias,  Leon.  Alfonso  retired  to  Santiago 
to  hide  his  wounded  feelings  in  devotion,  but  came 
forth  once  more  and  battled  triumphantly  against  the 
Moors  of  Toledo,  dying,  after  a  reign  of  forty-four 
years,  in  910. 

With  Alfonso  III.  closes  the  series  of  ^wx^Xy  Asturiati 
kings,  and  Garcias,  who  took  up  his  residence  in  Leon, 
was  the  first  king  of  LeoJi,  as  the  Christian  kings  north 
of  the  Duero  thenceforth  named  themselves.     The  ori- 
gin of  the  name  of  the  town  dates  from  the  establish- 
ment of  the   seventh  Roman /<^/^  (Legio  VIL  Gcviina) 
there,   and  the  town   remained  stubbornly  Roman  till 
taken  by  Leovigild  in  585.     The  Arabs  held  Leon  but 
a  short  time,  and  its  walls  of  great  and  massive  strength 
admirably  adapted  it  for  being  the  stronghold  of  Span- 
ish  Christendom   as  it  had  been  of  the  Romans.     The 
conquests  of    Alfonso    IIL    had   gradually  but   surely 
moved  forward  the  centre  of  the  Christian  power  toward 
the  centre  of  the  peninsula,  and  incalculable  might  have 
been  the  results,  had  not,  as  so  often  in  Spanish  history, 
the  slowly  evolving  kingdom  been  torn  by  dissensions 
resulting  from  a  division  of  its  resources  among  the 
three  brothers.     The  consequence  was  three  short  and 
tumultuous    reigns  —  Garcias    (910-14),    Ordono     IL 
(914-924),    and    Froila    IL    (924-925)  — the   first    of 
whom  died   childless,  the  second   campaigned  success- 
fully against  the  great  Khalif  Abderaman  III.,  and  the 


CARROX,  MOSCiUE    OF    CORDOVA. 


'  t 


I  i 


152   ChriMlan  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest, 

instigated  by  Count  Froila  and  his  own  brothers,  he 
suffered  the  further  mortification  of  seeing  his  son 
Garcias  and  his  wife  weaving  plots  against  him,  and 
finally -abdicated  in  favor  of  Garcias.  The  younger 
brother,  Ordono,  received  Galicia  ;  Froila  (Fruella),  As- 
turias ;  and  Garcias,  Leon.  Alfonso  retired  to  Santiago 
to  hide  his  wounded  feelings  in  devotion,  but  came 
forth  once  more  and  battled  triumphantly  against  the 
Moors  of  Toledo,  dying,  after  a  reign  of  forty-four 
years,  in  910. 

With  Alfonso  III.  closes  the  series  of  purely  Asfur/a/i 
kings,  and  Garcias,  who  took  up  his  residence  in  Leon, 
was  the  first  king  of  Zeo//,  as  the  Christian  kings  north 
of  the  Duero  thenceforth  named  themselves.  The  ori- 
gin of  the  name  of  the  town  dates  from  the  establish- 
ment of  the  seventh  Roman  A;^/^  (Legio  VI L  Gcminn) 
there,  and  the  town  remained  stubbornly  Roman  till 
taken  by  Leovigild  in  585.  The  Arabs  held  Leon  but 
a  short  time,  and  its  walls  of  great  and  massive  strength 
admirably  adapted  it  for  being  the  stronghold  of  Span- 
ish Christendom  as  it  had  been  of  the  Romans.  The 
conquests  of  Alfonso  III.  had  gradually  but  surely 
moved  forward  the  centre  of  the  Christian  power  toward 
the  centre  of  the  peninsula,  and  incalculable  might  have 
been  the  results,  had  not,  as  so  often  in  Spanish  history, 
the  slowly  evolving  kingdom  been  torn  by  dissensions 


resulting  from 


a  division  of  its  resources   among  the 


three  brothers.  The  consequence  was  three  short  and 
tumultuous  reigns  —  Garcias  (910-14),  Ordono  II. 
(914-924),  and  Froila  II.  (924-925)  —  the  first  of 
whom  died  childless,  tlie  second  campaigned  success- 
fully against  the  great  Khalif  Abderaman  III.,  and  the 


niE    ZA.NCAKKON,  MOSQUE    OF    CORDOVA. 


Ramiro  IL 


155 


:? 


third,  supplanting  his  brother  Ordono's  children,  died 
of  leprosy,  says  the  chronicle,  after  a  reign  of  fourteen 

months. 

Alfonso  IV.,  the  Blind,  or  the  monk,  a  son  of  Ordono 
II.,  grasped  the  sceptre  with  weak  and  vacillating  hand, 
between  925  and  930.  Devoted  to  pious  exercises,  he 
abdicated  in  favor  of  his  brother  Ramiro  II.  (93i-95o)» 
retired  to  the  convent  of  Sahagun  (Domnos  Sanctos), 
repented  of  his  abdication,  flew  to  arms  while  Ramiro 
was  fighting  the  Saracens,  was  defeated  and  blinded, 
and  died,  leaving  a  memory  compounded  of  bigotry, 
irresolution,  and  duplicity. 

The  chroniclers  pass  over  the  nineteen  years  of  the 
reign  of  Ramiro  II.  in  almost  absolute  silence.     The 
count  of  Castile,  Fernan  Gonzalez,   and  the  Castilian 
grandee,  Diego  Munoz,  revolted  against  Ramiro,  were 
defeated  and  imprisoned,  and  released  under  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  the  king  of  Leon.     Ordono  married  his  eldest 
son  Ordono  to  Urraca,  Gonzalez'  daughter,  won  a  bril- 
liant victory  over  the  infidels  at  Talavera,  left  numerous 
monastic  establishments  as  memorials  of  his  religious 
faith,  and  died  in  950,  leaving  the  throne  to  his  eldest 
son  Ordono   III.,  a  prince  of  distinguished  resolution, 
caution,  valor,  and  experience.     His   brother  Sancho, 
aided    by   the    refractory   count    of    Castile,    rebelled 
against  him;  but  the  proclamation  of  the  "holy  war" 
against  the  Christians  by  Abderaman  united  the  Span- 
iards, and  gave  them  a  glorious  success  on  the  banks  of 
the  Duero.     Sancho  I.  (the  Fat),  followed  his  brother 
in  957,  but  was  soon  driven  into  exile  by  the  ambitious 
and  unmanageable  Fernan  Gonzalez,  who  was  bent  on 
securing  the   independence   of   Castile.     Sancho  took 


I 

ii 


I 


156    Christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest, 

refuge  with   the  noble-minded  Khalif  of  Cordova,  .was 
cured  of  his  excessive  corpulency  by  the  skill  of  the 
Arabian    physicians,    and,    assisted    by    Abderaman's 
troops,  expelled  the  pretender,  Ordono  the  Bad,  from 
Leon,  forced  him  into  exile  among  the  Moslems,  and 
finally  succumbed  himself  to  a  poisoned  apple  sent  him 
by  count  Gonzalo   Sanchez   of  Galicia,  in  966.     Dona 
Elvira,  aunt  of  the  five-year-old  heir  to  the  crown,  Ram- 
iro  III.  (966-982),  a  woman  of  great  wisdom  and  ability, 
managed  the  kingdom  during  the  minority  of  her  nephew, 
and  destroyed  a  Norman  fleet  of  one  hundred  vessels, 
w^hich  had  ravaged  Galicia  and  the  sea-coast.     A  nar- 
row-minded, mendacious,  and  arrogant  stripling,  Ramiro 
III.  totally  estranged  die   affections  of  his  people;  the 
grandees   rebelled   and  offered  the  crown  to  Bermudo 
II.,   the  Gouty  (982-999),  —  a  vigorous  though   physi- 
cally ailing  spirit,  celebrated  for  the  misfortunes  which 
his  government  underwent  at  the  hands  of  the  terrible 
Almansor.     His  own  nobles  called  the  Moors  into  the 
land,  stole    and  divided    his  treasures,  caused   the  de- 
struction   of    his    capital    and    innumerable    villages, 
churches,  and    cloisters,  the  desecration  of   the   great 
sanctuary  of  Santiago  by  the  Moors,   and  a   state  of 
pitiable  ruin  and  disaster  throughout  Christian  Spain. 

The  destruction  and  misery  were  partially  obliterated 
by  his  son,  Alfonso  V.  (999-1028),  who  rebuilt  the  walls, 
churches,  and  convents  of  Leon,  and  held  there  the 
famous  council  of  prelates  and  grandees  in  1020,  so 
epoch-making  for  the  legislation  of  this  part  of  Spain. 
He  was  slain  by  an  arrow  during  the  siege  of  Viseu,  on 
the  Mondego,  in  1028. 

The  curse  of  mediaeval  Spain  perpetually  recurs, —  long 


Bermiido's  Minority. 


157 


H 


minorities  of  her  princes,  during  which  the  countr}^  is 
delivered  over  to  the  heartless  intrigues  of  the  nobles. 
Bermudo  HI.  (1028-1037)  had  this  hapless  experience, 
saw  his  capital  taken  away  from  him  by  the  ambitious 
and  powerful  Sancho  Mayor,  king  of  Navarre,— who 
reigned  from  the  summit  of  the  Pyrenees  to  the  bounda- 
ries of  Galicia,— and  only  after  the  latter's  death  in  1035, 
re-appeared  as  king  of  Leon.     Sancho  had  conquered 
Castile,  and  left  his  kingdom  in  such  a  way  that  his 
son  Garcias  held  possession  of  Navarre  with  Alava; 
Ferdinand,   Castile,  with   prospective  rights   to   Leon, 
Galicia,  and  Asturias,  in  case   Bermudo  died  without 
children  ;  and  the  bastard   Ramiro,  Aragon.     The  two 
combined  against  Bermudo ;  a   bloody  battle    ensued, 
and  Bermudo,  rushing  impetuously  forward  to  measure 
lances  with  his  princely  enemies,  was  killed.     With  him 
the  male  line  of  the  kings  of  Leon  expired,  and,  as  his 
only  son  had  died  soon  after  birth,  Ferdinand  therefore 
succeeded  to  the  crown  of  Leon. 

Whilst  a  kingdom  thus  painfully  and  piece-meal  rose 
in  the  west  of  the  peninsula,  a  little  state,  or  confed- 
eracy of  states,  began  a  similar  line  of  development  in 

the  east. 

The  spirit  of  the  eastern  population  of  Spain  had 
always  been  singularly  fresh  and  stirring.  The  climate, 
the  situation  of  the  land,  and  the  intimate  association 
with  France,  stimulated  these  small  countyships  and  prin- 
cipalities wonderfully.  Thus  between  the  protecting 
Pyrenees  and  the  Mediterranean,  in  Catalonia,  rose  s. 
nationality  whose  fundamental  tone  was  Gothic  and 
Spanish,  yet  whose  constituent  elements  were  so  com- 


r 


III 


lb6   Christiaji  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Cofiquest. 

plex,  owing  to  foreign  influence,  and  wide-extended 
commercial  relations  abroad  and  at  home,  that  the 
nationality  as  a  whole  came  to  form  an  easy  transition 
between  sharply  individualized  Spain  and  the  more  cos- 
mopolitan spirit  of  Italy,  France,  and  Germany. 

The  earliest  history  of  the  province  of  Barcelona  is 
closely  bound  up  with  that  of  the  south  of  France,    l^ie 
"  Spanish  March  "  separated,  with  Septimania,  from  the 
kingdom  given  by  the  Emperor  Louis  to  his  son  Pippin,  in 
the  south  of  France,  embraced  the  four  dioceses  of  Barce- 
lona, Gerona,  Urgel,  and  Ausona.     It  extended  beyond 
the  limits  of  Vasconia  and  embraced  counties  belonging 
later  to  Aragon.     Barcelona  was  the  capital,  and  the 
counts   of    Barcelona,  called    by   their  contemporaries 
also  dukes  of  Barcelona,  were  at  once  counts  of  the 
March  of  Spain,  and  dukes  of  Septimania.     71ieir  task 
was   to  watch  and  protect  this  important  borderland 
(hence  march,  or  marl:)  against  the  menacing  growth  of 
the    Saracens.      Their    remoteness    from    the    central 
authority  and  their  power  were  so  great  that  they  soon 
coveted  and  effected  their  independence.     About  865 
Septimania  was  separated  from  the  county  of  Barcelona. 
Wifrid  the   Hair>^  is  the  first  count  after  the  separation 
that  offers  any  certain  point  about  which  to  group  his- 
torical facts.     It  is  not,  however,  till  the  great  name  of 
the  Berenguers  is  reached,  in  the  eleventh  century,  that 
Catalonia,    so-called   by   a    Pisan    chronicler   in    '11 14, 
assumes    decided    importance    in    the   affairs   of    the 
country. 

Raymond  Berenguer  I.  was  grandson  of  Raymond, 
whose  reign,  with  that  of  his  brother,  extended  from  977 
to  1017,  a  period  filled  with  the  splendid  achievements 


LawH  of  Barcelona, 


159 


of  Almansor  and  marked  by  the  acme  and  decline  of 
the    Mahometan    Khalifate  of    Cordova.      Under   the 
princes  of  this  name,  both   Raymonds  and  Raymond 
Berenguers,  the  county   swiftly  progressed  in  internal 
development  and  external  extent  (1076).     Under  Ray- 
mond Berenguer  1.,  were  promulgated  those  remarkable 
usages  or  laws  of  Barcelona  which,  for  seven  hundred 
years,  formed  the  foundation  of  the  civil  administration 
of  Catalonia.     In  thus  giving  his  land  its  peculiar  leg- 
islation, P.aymond  was  equally  intent  upon  insuring  its 
independence  within  and  without.     It  is  said  that  he 
acquired  such  supremacy  over  the  Moslems  that  twelve 
kings  (emirs  and  walls)  of  Spain  paid  annual  tribute  to 
him  as  to   their  lord.     He  sullied   the  brightness  of  his 
honor,   however,  by  accepting  gold  from  the  infidels, 
exciting  Christians  against  Christians,  shedding  the  blood 
of  his  people  in  the  cause  of  fugitive  and  shameless  Mos- 
lems, and  playing  the  allies  of  the  infidels  in  their  civil 
wars  against  one  another,  for  the  aggrandizement  of  him 
self.     He  died  in  1076  (as  did  his  son  Raymond  Beren- 
guer II.  in  1092),  while  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem. 
The  third  of  the  name'  extended  the   territory  and  re- 
sources of  his  land  more  than  either  of  his  predecessors, 
and  united,  by  inheritance,  with  Barcelona  the  counties 
of  Cerdagne,  Berga,  and  Conflant,  Capcir,  and  a  part  of 
Rasez  (1111-1117).     Marriage  with  Dolce,  countess  of 
Aries  or  Provence,  in  11 12,  brought  him  other  extensive 
possessions  north  of  the  Pyrenees  ;  and  he  assumed  the 
title   of  count   of    Barcelona  and    Spain,  Besalu,   and 

Provence. 

His  conquest  of  Majorca  in  union  with   the  Pisan 
fleet,  in  1114-1115,  resulted  in  the  liberation  of  thirty 


160    Christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest, 

thousand  captive  Christians  on  one  day ;  but  the  con- 
quest was  soon  lost.  Throwing  off  ecclesiastical  alle- 
giance to  the  archbishop  of  Narbonne,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Pyrenees,  he  erected  Tarragona  into  an  arch- 
bishopric, and  made  of  it  the  metropolitan  see,  after  the 
conquest  of  Saragossa  from  the  Moslems  in  1118.  En- 
tering the  order  of  the  Templars,  he  dedicated  himself 
indefatigably  to  knightly  encounters  with  the  "  accursed 
sons  of  Mahoun."  On  his  death,  in  ii3i,he  left  the 
Spanish  March,  with  all  its  belongings,  to  his  eldest  son, 
Raymond  Berenguer  IV.,  and  to  the  youngest,  Beren- 
guer  Raymond,  Provence  and  his  possessions  in  Ro- 
vergne,  Gevaudan,  and  Carlad.  In  1137  the  Spanish 
March  was  united  with  Aragon,  and  began  at  once  a 
new  and  interesting  period.* 

*  As  the  accounts  of  the  early  history  of  Barcelona,  Na- 
varre, Castile,  Aragon,  and  the  Asturias  are  conflicting,  I  have 
preferred  to  follow  Lembke  I.,  Schdfer  II.,  and  Dozy,  Kechcrches, 
I.  andU. 


J^ 


M 


i 


If 


CHAPTER   VIII. 
CHRISTIAN  SPAIN  TO  THE  ALMOEAYIDE  CONQUEST. 

[continued.] 

ONLY  once,  hitherto,  under  Sancho  the  Great,  was 
it  permitted  to  Navarre  to  play  a  striking  part  in 
the  affairs  of   Spain.     Its  precipice-guarded  mountain- 
land  was  favorable  to  independence,  though  eyed  with 
covetousness  by  the  foreigner,  as  a  borderland  and  en- 
trance into  the  peninsula.     Navarre  had  been  the  gate- 
way of  the  Saracens  into  France,  and  became  the  guide 
of  France  into  Spain.     The  early  and  marvellous  ex- 
pansion of  Leon  and  Castile  had,  however,  prevented 
Navarre  from  becoming  a  great   power,     Fortunate  cir- 
cumstances had  enabled  Sancho  the  Great  to  exercise 
an  evanescent   lordship   from    Pampelona    down   over 
almost  the  wliole  of  Catholic   Spain.     But  his   short- 
sighted division  of  his  kingdom   among  his  sons,   put 
the  finishing  blow  to  a  lasting  preponderance  of  his 
kingdom,   and  in  the  bosom  of   the  Pyrenees  created 
Aragon,  which  soon  overshadowed  the  motherland. 

Pampelona  and  Navarre  were  ruled  by  counts,  or 
dukes  dependent  upon  the  Prankish  kings  until  they 
cast  off  the  yoke,  aided  by  their  difficult  position  and 
the  weakness  and  neglect  of  the  Prankish  overlords. 

The  hardy  and  warlike  Basques  were  perpetually  in 
revolt  against  their  own  rulers  and  the  kings  of  Asturias 

163 


*.  < 


164    Christian  Spain  to  the  Ahnoravide  ConqueH, 

and    Leon.     The  marriage  of    Alfonso  III.  (866-910) 
with   Ximene,  a  daughter  of  Garcias  Iniguez,  who  de- 
duced his  origin  from  Peter,  duke  of  Cantabria,  of  the 
Visigothic  royal  house,  shows  at  least  the  existence  of 
an  important  independent  reigning  house  in  Navarre, 
and  a  land  sundered  both  from  the   Frankish  and  the 
Asturian  kingdom  in  the  latter  part  of  the  ninth  century. 
Though  Garcias  Iniguez  does  not  seem  to  have  been  a 
king,  his  daughter  married  a  king,  and  his  son,  Sancho 
Garcias  {-sox-z  is  a  patronymic  ending  of  descent),  took 
the  kingly  title  in  905.     He  conquered  Pampelona  and 
the  whole  domain  of  Aragon,  with  its  castles ;  snatched 
all  the  fortified  places,  from  Naxera  to  Tudela  on  the 
Cantabrian  side,  from  the  Saracens  ;  and  at  his  death,  in 
925,  left  his  kingdom  clean  of  the  misbelievers.     His 
son    Garcias  reigned  from  925   to    970,    and    "fought 
many  battles   with  the   Saracens,"  laconically  register 
the  chronicles.     Of  his  two  sons,  Sancho  and  Ramiro, 
the  first,   as  king  of  Navarre,  through  conquest,  mar- 
riage, and  skilful  utilization  of  favorable  circumstances, 
gave  his  realm  an  extent  and  importance  unrivalled  in 
the    annals   of   Navarre   by   predecessor  or  successor. 
After  the  murder   of  the  Castilian   count  Garcias,  the 
king  of  Navarre,    as  son-in-law  of  count   Sancho,  got 
possession  of  Castile,  and  occupied  in  Leon,  the  region 
between  the  rivers  Pisuerga  and  Cea.      His  division  of 
the  kingdom  before  his  death  in  1035,  has  already  been 
mentioned.     Garcias,  the  first-born,  got  Navarre,  with 
Viscaya,   hitherto  united    with    Catalonia  ;   Ferdinand, 
Castile  an- 1  the  land  between  the  Cea  and  the  Pisuerga  ; 
and  Ramiro,  a  natural  son,  the  countyship  of  Aragon. 
The  little  countyship  of  Aragon,   originally   such   a 


Rise  of  Aragon, 


165 


speck  on  the  map  of  Spain,  possesses  an  interest  in 
political    history   second    only   to   that    of   Catalonia. 
The  situation  and  nature  of  the  two  lands  are  not  more 
different  than  the    psychological  peculiarities  of   their 
inhabitants.     The    vivid-minded    Catalonian,   absorbed 
in  municipal  life  and  industrial  pursuits,  turned  towards 
the  brilliant  and   animated  Mediterranean,  and  thence 
wafted  to  every  part  of  the  world,  devoted  to  sea-faring 
and  sea-trade,  lively,  poetic,  and  chivalrous,  forms  the 
most  utter  contrast  with  the  Aragonese,  bred  m  his  lonely 
mountains  and  valleys,  everlastingly  and  fiercely  fight- 
incr  with  the  Moors,  strange  to  culture  and  refinement, 
proudly  and  stoically  secluded,  and  yet  developing,  in 
his  savage  solitude,  a  code  which,  in  its  singularly  broad 
and  enlightened  views   of    civil  liberty,  constitutional 
government,  and  the  limitations   of  power,  is  rivalled 
only  by  the  great   charter  wrung  from  King  John  of 
England,  at  Runnymede. 

Darkness  shrouds  the  rise  of  Aragon  as  it  does  tha 
of  Leon,  the  Asturias,  Castile,  and  Navarre.    The  small 
extent  of  the  county,  its  inaccessible  position,  and  its 
primitive  unimportance,  make  it  suffer  at  the  hands  o 
the  chroniclers.     Count    Bernard,  one  of  the   sons   of 
Vaudregisel,  a  descendant  of  Eudes,  duke  of  Aquitania, 
was  one  of  the  earliest  Aragonese  "watchers  of   the 
borderland,"  in  virtue  of   his  marriage  with   Theuda, 
daughter  of  Galindo,  the  count  of  Aragon.    Galindo  was 
the  second  'count,  and  is  expressly  called  the  Count  of 
Aragon.      Originally    conquered,  with  the   aid   of    the 
Franks,  by  Count  Bernard,  it  was  united  with  Navarre 
by  King  Sancho  Garcias,  and  fell  to  the  bastard  son  of 
Sancho  the  Great,  Ramiro,  who  assumed  the  title   ot 


«§'  \  ■ 


166   christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest, 


king,  and  increased  his  realm  by  wars  with  the  Moors, 
and  by  steady  endowment  and  building  up  of  the  great 
mediaeval    church    organization    of    Spain.     Civil    war 
broke  out  between  the  three  brothers.     Garcias  fell  in 
battle  in   1054;  his  whole  territory  down  to  the  Ebro 
came  into  the  hands  of  Ferdinand  ;  and  Ramiro  died 
at  the  siege  of  Grados  in  1063,  leaving  a  son,  Sancho 
Ramirez,  who  completely  expelled  all  the  Moors  from 
the  mountains  of  Aragon,  and  from  Sobrarbe,  Ribagorza, 
and  Barbastro,  in  the  plains   (1065).     The  murder  of 
King  Sancho  of  Navarre  in  1076,  by  his  brother  Ray- 
mond, enabled  the  kings  of  Castile  and  Aragon  to  occupy 
the    now   confused    and    headless    kingdom.      Sancho 
Ramirez  therefore  gained  Pampelona,  and  Alfonso  VI. 
of  Castile  and  Leon  occupied  Rioja  and  Calahorra,  and 
the   provinces   Alava,    Guipuzcoa,    and   Biscay.      The 
murderer  fled  to  the  court  of  the  Emir  of  Saragossa, 
whose  central  position,  almost  in  the  midst  of  the  Chris- 
tian principalities,  enabled  him  long  to  hold  the  balance 
of  power  in  his  hands,  and  become  equally  formidable 
as  foe  or  ally  of  his  neighbors.     Navarre,  to  the  Ebro, 
remained  bound  up  with  Aragon  till  its  separation  again, 
in  1 134.     We  find  an  intensely  active  guerrilla  warfare 
against  the  Mussulmans  carried  on    all  this  time,  and 
the  king,  Sancho  Ramirez,  spread  with  restless  energy 
his  conquests  further  and  further  to  the  south,  fortify- 
ing  his  frontier  as  he  went.     In    1093  the  Christians 
poured   like    a   devastating    stream    into    the    Moslem 
domain;   forty  thousand  armed  and  unarmed  persons 
were  slaughtered  in  the  captured  towns,  and  innumer- 
able women  and  children  dragged  into  captivity.     The 
heroic  monarch  died  of  a  poisoned  arrow  at  the  siege 
of  Huesca,  in  1094. 


Castile. 


167 


The  capture  of  Huesca  became  the  persevering  task 
of  Pedro  I.,  his  successor  on  the  throne  — a  city  which 
was  the  bulwark  of  the  Mahometan  power  in  eastern 
Spain.  It  surrendered  in  1096.  The  possession  of  so 
important  a  place  lightened  the  task  of  the  capture  of 
Saragossa,  which  was  accomplished  by  his  successor. 
Pedro  died  in  11 04  in  great  repute  for  justice,  ortho- 
doxy, and  knightliness. 

About  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century,  in  the  time 
of  Alfonso  I.,  what,  a  century  later,  was  called  Castile, 
was  called  Bardulia.     Castile,  as  a  name,  was  already 
familiar  in  the  days  of  Alfonso  III.     A  few  decades 
after,  the  domain  of   Castile  had  so  extended  that  it 
came  to  be  called  "  Old  "  Castile  in  contra-distinction 
to  the  ever-widening  conquests  to  the  south ;  the  same 
name  was  applied  to  the  territory  of  Toledo,  afterwards 
acquired  by  the  kings  of  Leon  and  Castile,  though  with 
the  designation  "  New  "  Castile.    The  whole  land  down 
to   the  "Puertos  de   Guadarrama,"   or  ''gates  of   the 
Guadarrama  "  mountains,  was  called  Old  Castile  \  south- 
wards from  this  point.  New  Castile.     At  one  time,  how- 
ever, the  term  "Old"  Castile  was   applied  more  partic- 
ularly to  that  domain  which  constituted  the  primitive 
seat  of  the  "  county  of  Castile,"  and  within  this  domain 
formed  the  inerindad  of  Villarcayo,  as  distinguished  from 
the  territory  of  Burgos,  which   was   preferably   called 

"  Castile." 

Alfonso  I.  and  his  successors,  as  kings  of  Asturias, 
undoubtedly  installed  governors  over  the  first  conquests 
made  in  the  north  of  Castile.     But  the  first  knowledge 


168    Christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Canquest. 


■■I 


we   have    of  "  counts "  of  Castile  is    of    Rodrigo    and 
Diego,  father  and  son,  the  former  of  whom  founded 
Amaya  in  860  as  the  capital,  at  that  time,  of  the  prov- 
ince, and  the  latter  peopled  Burgos,  twenty-four  years 
later  (884).     There  were  numerous  counts  in  the  differ- 
ent districts  of  the  countr}^  several  of  whom  Ordono 
caused  to  be  apprehended  and  put  to  death  for  rebel- 
lion in  923,  a  fact  which  speaks  eloquently  for  the 
dependence  of   Castile    at  that  time.     From  the   year 
935  Fernan  Gonzalez,  one  of  the  most  famous  and  cap- 
tivating  of    Spanish   ballad-figures,  appears    as   single 
count   of    Castile,    striving    though    unsuccessfully   for 
independence  against  Ramiro  II.     Ramiro  courted  his 
friendship,  however,  by  marrying  his  son  to  the  power- 
ful count's  daughter,  thinking  thus  to  have  woven  an  in- 
extricable woof  of  dependence  for  him.    Gonzalez,  how- 
ever, —  a   treacherous   and    ungovernable    grandee,— 
struggled    unceasingly    in    the    succeeding    reigns '  of 
Ordono  III.  and  the  weak  Sancho  I.,  but  without  avail. 
Castile  remained  obedient  to  Leon. 

It  was  a  vast  step  towards  independence,  however, 
that  his  son,  Garcia  Fernandez,  followed  him  immedi- 
ately in  the  administration  of  the  province. 

The  Count  Fernan  Gonzalez  is  the  centre  of  a  thou- 
sand radiations  of  delicate  and  fantastic  poetry, 

They  have  carried  afar  into  Navarre  the  great  count  of  Castile, 
And  they  have  bound  him  sorely,  they  have  bound  him  hand  and 
heel ; 

The  tidings  up  the  mountains,  and  down  among  the  valleys, 
"  To  the  rescue !   to  the  rescue,   ho !  -  they  have   ta'en    Fernan 
Gonzalez  1 " 


\-j.-»  i  i^ 


_RRE  DE  LAS  INFANTAS, 


Fernan  Gonzalez. 


171 


•  ^  iJnP*^  of  one  of  these  charming 
Such  are  the  opening  lines  or  one  u 
bucn  are  L        f        ^^.^^i.^ed  bv  Lockhart,  who  con- 
legends  so  musically  rendered  b>  i.  .^^ 

tinues  •  "  The   story  of  Fernan  Gonzalez 

circumstances,  that  certain  modern  cnt.cs  h  ^     be  n 
inclined   to   think   it  entirely  fabulous      O/^^e  mam 

facts  recorded,  there  seems,  l----^  *°  ^?  "°f  ^t 
reason  to  doubt;  and  it  is  quite  certam  *at  from  he 
earliest  times  the  name  of  Fernan  Gonzalez  ha  bee 
held  in  the  highest  honor  by  the  Spaniards  themsel  es 
of  every  decree.  He  lived  at  the  begmnnrg  of  the 
Itrdntur;.  It  was  under  his  rule,  according  to  the 
rroiicles,  that  Castile  first  become   an   m  ependen 

Christian  state,  and  ^^^^^  :;::r:^X 
foundations  were  laid  of    that  system  ot  j 

which  the  Moorish  power  in  Spam  was  at  last  o^er 

''Te  was  so  fortunate  as  to  have  a  wife  as  hero^  - 
himself,  and  both  in  the  chronicles  and  m  the  ballads, 
abundant  justice  is  done  to  her  merits. 

"She  twice  rescued  Fernan  Gonzalez  from  confine^ 
,.ent  at  he  risk  of  her  own  life.  He  asked,  or  designed 
Task  her  hand  in  marriage  of  her  father,  Garcias,  king 
of  Na'va  re  and  was  on  his  way  to  that  prince's  court, 
when  he  was  seized  and  cast  into  a  dungeon,  m  conse- 
:"of  the  machinations  of  Ms  enemy,  the  queen  o 
Leon  sister  to  the  king  of  Navarre.  Sancha  the 
young  princess,  to  whose  alliance  he  had  aspired,  being 


172   Christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Coiiquest, 


informed  of  the  cause  of  his  journey,  and  of  the  suffer- 
ings to  which  it  had  exposed  him,  determined  at  all 
hazards  to  effect  his  liberation  ;  and  having  done  so,  by 
bribing  his  jailer,  she  accompanied  his  flight  to  Castile. 
Many  years  after,  he  fell  into  an  ambush  prepared  for 
him  by  the  same  implacable  enemy,  and  was  again  a 
fast  prisoner  in    Leon.     His  countess,  feigning   a  pil- 
grimage   to    Compostella,  obtained    leave,  in  the   first 
place,  to  pass  through  the  hostile   territory,  and  after- 
wards in  the  course  of  her  progress,  to  spend  one  night 
in   the  castle  where  her  husband  was  confined.     She 
exchanged  clothes  with  him ;  and  he  was  so  fortunate 
as   to    pass   in    his   disguise  through   the   guards  who 
attended  on  him." 

Under  Count  Sancho,  grandson  of  Fernan  Gonzalez, 
the  foundation  was  laid  for  the  complete  independence 
of  Castile,  by  the  marriage  of  his  daughter  to  Sancho  of 
Navarre.  On  the  murder  of  his  son  and  heir,  Garcias, 
by  the  Vela  brothers  at  the  church  door  (1026),  the 
Castilian  male  line  became  extinct,  and  the  king  of 
Navarre  claimed  Castile  in  virtue  of  his  beins:  the 
brother-in-law  of  the  deceased.  Then  Bermudo  III., 
king  of  Castile  and  Leon,  gave  his  sister  Sancha  in 
marriage  to  Ferdinand,  second  son  of  the  king  of 
Navarre,  with  cession  of  the  land  between  the  Cea  and 
Pisuerga.  After  that  time  Castile  began  to  grow  up 
into  an  independent  kingdom.  Ferdinand  became 
count  of  Castile,  which  fell  to  him  as  hereditary  posses- 
sion on  Sancho's  division  of  the  three  kingdoms  at  his 
death. 

After  Ferdinand  I.'s  coronation  as  king  of  Leon  and 
Castile,  he  ruled  over  lands  extending  from  the   coast 


Ferdinand  of  Leon  and  Castile. 


173 


of  Galicia  to  the  borders  of  Navarre  -  a  po^ver  whtch 
roused  ^reat  apprehensions  among  the  Moslems.     To 
vTover^he  Leonese,.he  resorted  to  the  favorUe  mean 
o    reconciliation  of  the  early  Spanish  ktngs- a  means 
out  of  which  grew  the  whole" marvellous  fabnc  of  early 
spa    sh  UbertL  and  prerogatives.-confirmedthetrown 
flros  or  laws,  and   added   new  ones  to   these^    The 
Ireat  assembly  of  Coyanza  held  in  .050,  was  of  stnk- 
i',.  si<^nificance  for  the  subsequent  civil  and  ecclesiasti- 
cs" legislation  at  Castile.     Ferdinand  devoted  special 
attenti;,!  to  the    education  of  his  sons,  had  them  in- 
structed in  the  sciences,  in  arms,  riding,  and  the  chase 
and  his  daughters  grew  up  with  all   the  ornaments  of 
ilanhood.^   His  states  flourished  under  his  sagaaous 
administration   and  he   triumphed  over  h.s   u„na  - 

i-      •  .  ^f  M^virre  in  io;4,  when  Garcias  ten 
hrother  Garcias  oi  rMa\arrc,  ui  a'^^h-? 

1    al  ;  wounded  in   battle.     The  usual   intermmable 
war  against  the  Moslems  was  religiously  maintained. 
M  the  assembly  held  in  Leon  about  1063-4  he  com- 
mitted the  fatal  error,  oblirious   of  the  evil  effects  of 
his  father-s  example,  of  parcelling  out  his  realm  among 
his  three  sons  and  two  daughters.     Alfonso,  whom  he 
loved  best,  was  to  have  Leon  and  Asturias  ;  Sancho  the 
eldest  Castile  ;  Garcias,  the  youngest,  Galicia  ;  and  the 
daughters,  Urraca,  and  Elvira  the  cities  of  Zamora  and 
Toro,  with  the  patronage  of  all  the   convents  in  the 
kingdom,  on  condition  of  remaining  unwedded.     (Both 
died  about  I loi).    The  most  notable  achievement  of  his 
late  old  age  was  the  siege  and  capture  of  the  populous 
city  of  Coimbra ;  and  he  lived  to  see  the  Emirs  of  To- 
ledo,   Seville,    Badajoz,    and    Saragossa    in   a   certain 
dependence  on  him.     Feeling  his  end.  approaching,  he 


Hi 


174   Christian  Spain  to  the  AJmoravide  Co7iquest, 

put  on  the  royal  vestments,  had  himself  borne  to  the 
church  of  San  Juan,  prayed  aloud  humbly  before  the 
assembled  dignitaries,  removed  the  royal  insignia,  and 
putting  on  the  penitential  garment  died  in  the  arms  of 
the  priest,  in  1065. 

Love  for  his  children  had  thus  caused  Ferdinand  to 
sow  seeds  of  discord  which  did  not  fail  to  bring  forth 
an  hundred  fold.     An  ignoble  strife  broke  out  between 
Alfonso    and    Sancho ;    Sancho   seized    his    brother's 
dominions,  banished  Alfonso  to  Toledo,  and  drove  Gar- 
cias  into  exile.     Only  a  single  town  and  a  single  woman 
ventured  to  withstand  his  resistless  arms  — the  Lady 
Urraca  of  Zamora,  the  elder  sister  — a  quaint  and  in- 
finitely attractive  profile,  as  she  peeps  out  of  the  old 
ballads  and  throws  her  delicate  body  athwart  all  this 
stormy  tumult.     Sancho  besieged  Zamora  and  was  mur- 
dered there  by  one  of  the  knights  of  the  town  (1072)  ; 
whereupon   his  ready-witted   sister  sent  post-haste   to 
Alfonso  in  Toledo,  where  he  had  been  entertained  with 
boundless  hospitality  by  the  Emir.     Alfonso  recovered 
his  estates  as  expeditiously  as  he  had  lost  them,  granted 
privileges  to  his  people,  —  among  them  the  abolition  of 
the  burdensome  way-toll   exacted  of  all  pilgrims  jour- 
neying to  the   shrine  of  Santiago  de   Compostella, — 
cast  his    brother  Garcias    into  lifelong   imprisonment, 
and  thus  secured  to  himself  control  over  Galicia. 

It  was  partly  in  his  days—  a  hundred  years  after  all  Spain 
had  rung  with  the  romantic  story  of  the  "seven  most 
noble  brothers  called  the  infants  of  Lara" — that  the 
celebrated  Cid,  champion  cf  Spain,  did  those  wonder- 
ful deeds  whose  echoes  die  away  with  the  century  as 
they  mingle  with  the  on-coming  shout  of  the  soldiers  of 
the  fir'^t  crusade. 


'^^X^l.m 


* 


^-■^ 


I! 


I 


I 
11' 


*  <t 


The  Cid  Campeador, 


177 


Rodrigo  Diaz  de  Bivar,  the  Cid  Campeador,  was  the 
only  one  of  the  Spanish  heroes  who  acquired  a  Euro- 
pean reputation  in  the  middle  ages.  The  poets  of  all 
times  sang  and  celebrated  him.  The  most  ancient 
monument  of  Castilian  poetry  bears  his  name ;  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  ballads  celebrate  his  loves 
and  combats ;  Guillen  de  Castro,  Diamante,  Corneille, 
and  others,  chose  him  as  the  hero  of  their  dramas,  and 
Herder,  Southey,  and  Frere  have  made  him  a  household 
word  by  the  firesides  of  Germany  and  England.  His 
name  became  the  kernel  and  clustering-point  of  innum- 
erable fictions. 

The  marriage  contract  of  Rodrigo  and  Ximene  and 
a  few  lines  of  a  Latin  Chronicle,  written  in  the  south  of 
France  forty-two  years  after  his  death  (1141),  are  all 
the  documentary  testimony  we  possess  contemporary 
with,  or  slightly  posterior  to,  the  Cid.  The  other  sources 
of  his  history  are  subsequent  to  12 12. 

According  to  the  Arabian  chronicle,  the  Cid  was  a 
professionafhighwayman  whose  business  it  was  to  chain 
prisoners;    he   was   the    scourge   of   the    country;   he 
entered  the  pay  of  the  Mussulman   kinglets,  who  sur- 
rendered to  him  various  provinces  of  the  peninsula,  so 
that  he  traversed  the  country  with  impunity  and  planted 
his  banner  over  their  finest  cities.     His  power  was  im- 
mense, and  there  was  said  to  be  no  district  of  Spam 
which  he  had  not  pillaged.     He  laid  siege  to  Valencia, 
captured  it,  and  established  himself    there,  where   he 
died  in  1099.    At  different  times  he  fought  against  Gar- 
cias   of  the  Crooked  Mouth,  the  count  of   Barcelona, 
and  the  descendants  of-  Raymond,  putting  their  numer- 
ous warriors  to  flight  with  his  small  band  of  tried  and 


178    Christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest. 

invincible  soldiers.     He  delighted  in  the  deeds  and  gestes 
of  he  ancient  chevaliers  of  Arabia,  and  when  they  read 
to  h.m  the  story  of  Mohallab,  he  was  in  ecstasy  and  full 
of  admiration  for  that  dextrous  hero.     He  served  the 
Mahometan  kings  or  emirs  of  Saragossa.     The  history 
of  his  achievements  fills  more  than  a  half  of  the  last 
part  of    the    Cromca  General-xh^i  matchless  record 
drawn  up  in  the  second  half  of  the  thirteenth  century 
by  Alfonso  X.,  surnamed  the  Learned,  which,  as  Livy's 
book  with  regard  to   Roman  history,   was  a  digest  of 
countless  Latin  chronicles  and  Spanish  poems,  with  their 
assonances  still  clinging  to  them  in  many  cases.    Alfonso 
X.   was  the  creator  of  "the  true  Castilian  prose  -the 
prose  of  the  good  old  times,  the  prose  that  expresses  so 
faithfully  the  Spanish  character,  -  that  vigorous,  broad 
nch,  grave,  and  noble  prose."     It  is  believed  that  he 
knew  the  Arabic,  and  translated  from  it  the  unflatterin<. 
account  which  he  gives  of  the  Cid.     The  famous  knight 
was  called  Mia  CV(my  lord),  a  name  given  to  him  by 
his  Arab  soldiers  and  his  Valencian  subjects,  and  the 
term  Gm/W..  applied  to  him,  did  not  mean  ckamHon 
-a  technical  term,  of  infamous  repute,  for  a  man  who 
went  from  place  to  place,  to  hire  out  his  services  in 
judicial  combats -but  a  ^uelkr,  a  term  borrowed  by 
the  Spaniards  from  the  Arabs,  to  signify  one  who,  like 
David,  went  forth  when  two  armies  met,  and  defied  the 
p-eux  of  the  other  side  to  single  combat.     Such  was 
his  position  in  the  army  of  Sancho  of  Castile  to  whom 
he  was  standard-bearer. 

The  date  of  the  Song  of  the  CM  has  been  fixed  as  of 

teenthf ".         """?'.  "''"  ''''  ''^Sinning  of  the  thir- 
teenth century,  and  in  its  verses,  varying  from  eight  to 


Ximene  the  Heroic. 


179 


twenty-four  syllables  in  length,  we  have  a  brilliant,  pa- 
thetic, and  marvellously  naive  account  of  his  wrongs ; 
his  marriage  with  the  daughter  of  the  man  he  had  slain, 
his  solemn  binding  of  Alfonso  under  oath  that  he  had 
not  killed  Sancho ;  the  king's  bitter  enmity  to  the  Cid 
thereupon ;  his  banishment ;  the  story  of  Bavieca,  his 
wonderful  horse ;  the  marriage  of  his  daughters  to  the 
Infants  of  Carrion,  who  insulted  and  scourged  them, 
leaving  them  bleeding  in  the  wood ;  the  starving  and 
storming  of  Valencia  ;  the  touching  legend  of  the  Leper ; 
the  dazzling  visions  that  he  had  on  his  death-bed,  his 
death,  and  the  story  of  how  the  heroic  Ximene  bound 
him  erect  on  Bavieca,  and  carried  him,  a  corpse  in 
armor,  holding  his  glittering  sword,  to  Burgos. 

Ximene  was  the  daughter  of  Diego,  count  of  Oviedo, 
and  cousin  of  Alfonso,  who  wished  by  marriage  to 
attach  Rodrigo  to  his  family,  though  he  had  conceived 
an  aversion  to  him.  On  Rodrigo's  attacking  the  Moors 
in  1 08 1  without  asking  his  permission,  Alfonso  banished 
him,  and  from  this  moment  the  Cid  became  the  co7tdot- 
tiere-m-ch\Qi  of  the  peninsula  marauders.  He  terrorized 
the  country  of  the  enemies  of  his  master,  Montamin 
Emir  of  Saragossa  j  Montamin  overwhelmed  him  with 
presents  and  distinctions ;  but  the  Cid,  hungering  after 
the  pardon  and  recognition  of  his  old  master,  as  it 
would  seem,  tried  in  1084  to  open  negotiations.  Al- 
fonso received  him  honorably,  but  his  secret  rancor 
soon  got  the  better  of  his  prudence,  and  the  Cid  found 
it  advisable  to  return  to  Saragossa. 

Alfonso  made  no  scruple  of  selling  his  people  and 
their  states.  He  sold  .Valencia  —  which  he  was  not  in 
possession   of    then  — to   Moctodir   of    Saragossa  for 


« V 


180    Christian  Spain  to  the  Almoravide  Conquest, 

one  hundred  thousand  gold  pieces ;  then  nine  years 
later  to  Cadir,  on  condition  that  the  Mussulman  prince 
would  hand  over  to  him  Toledo,  the  ancient  capital  of 
the  Visigoths.  Alfonso  held  his  entry  into  the  city  in 
1085,  while  Cadir  exposed  himself  to  the  ridicule  of 
Mussulmans  and  Christians  by  spying  out  on  an  astro- 
labe the  hour  propitious  for  his  departure. 

The  chaos  into  which  the  Mussulman  principalities 
had  fallen  on  the  dissolution  of  the  Khalifate,  fifty  years 
before,  was  for  a  moment  reorganized  by  the  arrival  of  the 
Almoravide  king  of  Morocco,  Yousof-ibn-Techoufin, 
whom  the  Andalusian  princes  had  called  into  the  land 
to  their  help  against  Alfonso.  In  the  celebrated  battle 
of  Zallacca,  fought  in  1086,  the  "emperor  "  Alfonso  was 
shamefully  beaten. 

The^  Cid  meanwhile  had  made  an  arrangement  with 
Mostain  of  Saragossa,  his  new  employer,  to  rid  Valen- 
cia of  the  miserable   despot  Cadir ;   with  infinite  du- 
plicity he  secretly   negotiated  with    Cadir,    then    with 
Alfonso,  whose  vassal  Cadir  was,  then  with  Cadir  again. 
At  the  head  of   an  independent  robber  band,  he   de- 
stroyed churches,  devastated  fields,  stormed  fortresses, 
loaded  Berenguer  of  Aragon  with  insults  (whom  after- 
wards he  profoundly  touched  by  his  generosity),  com- 
pelled  the   petty   sovereigns   of   Barcelona,    Valencia, 
Albarracin,  Alpuente,  Murviedro,  and  Saragossa  to  pur- 
chase his  protection  at  the  rate  of  thousands  of  gdlden 
atndrs,  and  virtually  possessed  Valencia  long  before  its 
surrender,  in   1094,   but  a  few  years   after  the  mighty 
king  of  Morocco  had  once  more  blended  the  swarming 
republics  and  kingdoms  of  the  south  into  a  powerful 
sovereignty,  and  created  the  Almoravide  dynasty  to  last 


Birth  of  Castilian  Poesy. 


181 


a  hundred  years.  It  is  said  that  the  Cid  died  broken- 
hearted over  the  defeat  of  his  chosen  troops  by  the 
Almoravides  in  1099.  In  1102  the  Almoravides  took 
possession  of  the  beautiful  city. 

The  death  of  the  Cid  seems  to  have  been  the  birth 
of  Castilian   poesy  —  a  poesy  as  different  as  possible 
from  that  of  the  polished,  ingenious,   and  impression- 
able Moors,  who  haunted  palaces,  delighted  in  commen- 
taries, and  sent  messages  of  battle  or  reconciliation  in 
verse  characterized  by  an  incomparable  poetic  technique. 
The  Castilian  popular  verse  clung  faithfully  to  reality ; 
it  was  full  of  dreams  of   national  grandeur  obscurely 
foreshadowed  ;    it   deified,  with  an   intuitive    political 
sense,  the  great  champion  of  the  people  and  opponent 
of  an  unjust  ruler ;  it  transformed  an  historic  king,  half 
a  century  after  his  death,  into  an  idealized  and  half-fab- 
ulous hero,  burdening  him  with  the  agony  of  its  own 
poetic  dreams.     The  Cid  was  the  incarnation   of  his 
times.     Fighting  now  for  Christ  and  now  for  Mahomet ; 
guilty  of  infamous  treasons  \  breaking   solemn  oaths ; 
burning  prisoners ;  having  no  word  in  his  vocabulary 
that  would  express  patriotism ;  lying  without  scruple  ;  a 
powerful  chieftain  who  had  conquered  a  principality  for 
himself ;  he  was  no  worse  and  no  better  than  the  Ber- 
nado  del  Carpios,  the  Fernan  Gonzalezes,  or  than  many 
a  king  among  his  contemporaries. 

There  were  three  Cids :  the  cavalier,  who  could  fight 
better  than  all  others,  who  protected  and  governed  his 
king  when  he  was  not  fighting  him,  brutally  vigorous' 
and  frank,  inaccessible  to  tender  feeling,  a  violator  of 
holy  places ;  then  a  nobler,  loyaller,  chivalric,  Christian 
Cid,   who   grew  out  of  the   impassioned  reveries  and 


".•4. 


182   Chrhtian  Spain  to  the  Almoravlde  Conquest. 

reminiscences  of  tlie  autlwr  of  tlie  Song  of  the  Cidm 
1200- a  champion  fervently  adoring  the  Eternal, 
blessed  with  vis.ons  of  archangels,  absolutely  devoted 
to  king  and  fatherland,  full  of  fatherly  tenderness  for 
iHS  daughters,  Dofia  Elvira  and  Dona  Sol,  full  of  die- 
mty  and  glory  arising  from  a  consciousness  of  just 
deeds  and  chivalrous  enterprises,  the  noblest  type  of 

LTh'    T'r'ffT  P"'™''*"'  ""'^  i^n'ghtliness  ;  and, 
lastly,  the  Cid  of  the  romanceros  of  the  sixteenth  century 
who  is  a  sort  of  Cid  galant,  overflowing  with  fine  talk 
and  sentimental   rhodomontade.     A  convent  of  Bene- 
dictine monks,  at  San  Pedro  de  Cardegna,  devoted  them- 
selves to  his  niemorj.,  because  there  he  was  buried,  and 
there  were  found  his  tomb,  his  banner,  his  buckler  his 
cup  of  violet-colored  crj-stal,  and  his  cross.     They  shed 
sweet  odors  round  his  spirit,  which  wrought  miracles 
and  caused  the  rains  of  heaven  to  inundate  the  blazin-^ 
fields  of  Castile.     In  the  popular  opinion  he  became 
more  and  more   of  a   saint.     Bits   of   his   coffin  were 
eagerly  sought  as  preservatives  against  the   perils   of 
war.    And  Philip  II.,_who,  it  was  said,  had  the  Cid  been 
his  contemporary,  would   have  had  him  burnt  by  the 
inquisition  as  a  sacrilegious  heretic ;  who,  even  in  his 
grave-vault,  wore  the  Arabic  costume  and  was  more  of 
a  Mahometan  than  a  Christian,-  Philip  II.  claimed  his 
canonization  at  the  hands  of  the  pope  -  the  canoniza- 
tion of  the  man  who  was   the   boldest   and   bitterest 
champion  of  that  liberty  which  it  was  the  life-task  of 
Philip  to  exterminate. 


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YOUNG  VALENCIANS. 


4V1. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


FROM    THE    ALMORAVIDE    CONQUEST    TO    FERDI- 
NAND AND  ISABELLA. 

THE  task  of  unravelling  the  complicated  threads 
of  the  Spanish  dynasties  and  then  twining  them 
to-ether  in  a  clear  and  harmonious  whole,  is  one  of 
some  difficulty  ;  and  it  is  hard  to  fix  the  reader's  atten- 
tion on  so  many  radiating  lines  of  development  until 
they  all  converge  and  coalesce  in  the  persons  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella.     The  numerous  Alfonsos,  the  con- 
fusing Sanchos,  the  series  of  Ferdinands,  Juans,  and 
Pedros  often  contemporaries  though  reigning  over  dif- 
ferent kingdoms ;   the   five-fold,    almost   simultaneous 
development  of  Catalonia,   Aragon,  Navarre,  Astunas 
with  Leon  and  Castile,  and,  later  on,  the  western  king- 
dom of  Portugal ;  together  with  the  perpetual  dissolv- 
ing and  recombining  panorama   of    Saracenic   Spam, 
with  its  Khalifate,  kingdoms,  and  short-lived  republics ; 
tend  to  bewilder  and  overwhelm  the  student.     Fortu- 
nately, however,  the  history  of  Spain  is  full  of  illumina- 
ted points,  to  which,  in  the  general  darkness  the  eye 
may  turn,  and  around  which  cluster  the  true  destinies 
of  the  country.     These  are  great  battles  and  illustrious 
reigns  — Xeres  de  la  frontera,  Zallaca,  Las  Navas  de 

185 


186 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 


Tolosa,  Marcos  — events  epoch-making  in  their  far- 
reaching  consequences,  which  both  reader  and  writer 
welcome  as  lighthouses  and  lode-stars. 

Such,  at  present,  was  the  battle  of  Zallaca,  fought  in 
1086,  between   Yousof,   king  of  Morocco,  and  Alfonso 
VI.,  *'  emperor  of  Castile,"  and  his  allies,  Sancho  Ram- 
irez of  Aragon  and  Navarre,  and  Raymond  Berenguer 
of  Barcelona.     Alfonso's  army,  the  noblest  that  Spain 
had  ever  seen,  was  cut  to  pieces,  and  the  "  emperor " 
himself  barely  escaped  with  five  hundred  cavaliers  out 
of  a  reputed  strength  of  one  hundred  thousand.     The 
conquest  of  Seville  by  Yousof  in  109 1,  followed  by  that 
of  the  Balearic  Isles,  gave  the  whole  of   Mussulman 
Spain  to  the  Almoravides.     In  three  years  the  barba- 
rous hordes  of  Africa,  called  in  by  a  fatal  oversight  to 
oppose  the  great  and   admirable   genius  of    Alfonso, 
extirpated   the   "  rootless  sovereignties  "  of  the  south,' 
and  re-established  a  Mahometan  empire  like  that  of  the 
Omaiyades,  only  on  a  broader  basis.     Alfonso's  inac- 
tivity was  ascribed  to  his  expeditions  against  Lisbon 
and  Santarem,  which  he  gave  in  feoff  to  his  son-in-law, 
Count  Henry  of  Besan9on,  Burgundian  founder  of  the 
kingdom  of  Portugal. 

The  year  1099,  famous  for  the  capture  of  Jerusalem 
by  the  crusaders,  was  locally  celebrated  in  Spain  as  the 
death-year  of  the  Cid. 

The  death  of  Yousof,  in  his  hundredth  year  (i  106),— 
the  great  general  who  mingled  cruelty,  perfidy,  ingrati- 
tude, and  iron  insensibility  with  the  strange  virtues  of 
religious  enthusiasm  and  humility,— whom  two-thirds  of 
Spam  and  half  of  Africa  obeyed  as  sole  sovereign; 
whose  realms  reached  from  Fraga  to  Cadiz,  and  from 


"  Give  me  my  Son!  '' 


187 


Tunis  and  Tangier  to  the  golden  mountains  of  the 
negroes  ;  whom  thirteen  emirs  saluted  as  ''  Prince  of  the 
Faithful,"  and  for  whom  prayers  were  said  in  nineteen 
thousands  pulpits  —  the  death  of  Yousof  for  a  moment 
shook  the  Almoravide  supremacy ;  but  it  speedily  set- 
tled in  the  quiet  possession  of  Ali,  Yousof's  son,  like 
Abderaman  III.,  the  son  of  a  Christian  woman. 

Alfonso  VI.  died  in  11 09,  broken  hearted  at  the  death 
of  his  only  son,  Sancho,  son  of  a  daughter  of  the  emir 
of  Seville  by  an  illegitimate  union.  He  had  no  male 
heir  by  his  six  lawful  wives,  the  first  of  whom  was 
Agathe,  daughter  of  William  the  Conqueror.  Don  San- 
ch'o  was  killed  at  the  disaster  of  Uccles,  twenty-two 
years  after  the  defeat  of  Zallaca.  The  story  of  his  death, 
and  of  his  aged  father's  grief,  is  infinitely  touching. 
"  Alas,  my  son  !  "  —  we  translate  from  the  Galician  le- 
gend of  Sandoval  —  "  alas,  my  son  !  joy  of  my  heart  and 
light  of  my  eyes,  solace  of  my  old  age  !  alas,  my  mirror, 
in  whom  I  was  wont  to  see  myself,  and  in  whom  I  took 
very  great  delight !  O,  my  heir !  —  cavaliers,  where  have 
ye  left  him?  Give  me  my  son,  counts!"  And  he 
went  on  repeating,  "  Give  me  my  son,  counts !  " 

It  is  from  the  reign  of  Alfonso  VI.  that  dates  the 
true  greatness  of  Castile,  which,  from  his  time  on,  as- 
cended steadily  to  the  first  rank  of  the  peninsular  states. 
Twice  vanquished,  and  thirly-nine  times  victor,  Alfonso 
was  called  the  "  Buckler  of  Faith,"  and  named  himself 
"  Imperator  Hesperiae."  At  his  death,  the  water  flowed 
for  three  days  from  the  foot  of  the  altar  of  Saint  Isi- 
dore of  Leon,  as  if  the  stones  themselves  had  to  shed 

tears ! 

The  death  of  Pedro  1.  in  1104,  left  the  crown  of  Ara- 


188 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 


gon  vacant  to  his  brother,  Alfonso  I.,  the  real  source  of 
the  power  of  Aragon.  Alfonso  had  married  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Alfonso  VI.  of  Castile,  Dona  Urraca — a 
sanguinary  termagant,  whose  licentious  amours,  violence, 
and  recklessness  place  her  upon  the  most  unenviable 
pedestal  of  historic  viragoes.  The  Latin  of  the  chron- 
icles becomes  piquantly  ungrammatical  in  its  naive  de- 
lineations of  this  "  sceleratissima  vipera,"  as  it  calls 
her,  and  her  whole  reign  —  she  died  in  1126  —  is  con- 
densed by  one  of  them  in  these  words:  **Tyrannice  et 
muliebriter  regnavit !  "  she  reigned  like  a  woman  and  a 
tyrant.  It  took  all  the  virtues  of  Isabel  the  Catholic  to 
wipe  out  the  memory  of  the  vices  of  Urraca.  The  in- 
terminable feuds  of  the  great  houses  of  the  Laras  and 
the  Castros  added  to  the  horrors  of  the  minority  of  Al- 
fonso VII.,  the  Emperor,  for  whom  Urraca,  as  his 
mother,  held  the  kingdom  in  trust. 

Meanwhile  the  knell  of  the  Alm.oravide  dynasty  had 
rung.  Out  of  the  depths  of  Africa,  that  seething  caul- 
dron of  religious  ideas  and  revolutions,  arose  the  Ma- 
hadi,  Abdallah-ibn-Toumert,  "  whose  father  lighted  the 
lamps  in  a  mosque,"  and  who  himself  was  to  light  the 
funeral  pyre  of  the  Almoravides.  He  called  himself 
the  Messiah,  announced  for  ages  as  the  saviour  of  men, 
and  in  1120,  began  to  propagate  his  doctrine  of  a  puri- 
fied Islamism  restored  to  its  primitive  simplicity.  His 
sect  called  the  Almohades  (Unitarians),  spread  with  won- 
derful rapidity  in  the  fierce  and  easily  fecundated  air  of 
x^frica.  Abdallah  associated  with  himself  a  man  of 
noble  mien  and  commanding  presence,  Abdelmoumen, 
whose  business  it  was  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Almo- 
hades while  Abdallah,  with  flashing  eyes  and  strange 


Abdelmoumen' s  End. 


189 


eloquence  promulgated  the  gospel  of  his  belief.     Abdel- 
moumen, by  his  remarkable  talents  as  a  general,  routed 
the  troops  of  Ali  and  became  Emir  of  Africa.     The 
fortune  of  the  Almoravides  declined,  also,  in  the  penin- 
sula, under  Tachfin,  All's  son ;  for   the    Almoravides 
had  become  odious  to  the  Andalusian  Mussulmans  and 
Spain  was  ripe  for  a  revolt.     The  fate  of  Tachfin  was 
to  die  by  falling  over  a  precipice  in  Africa,  m   ii45- 
Purchasing  the  neutrality  of  Alfonso,  the  redoubtable 
enemy  of  their  faith,  the  Andalusians  shook  off  the  yoke 
of  the  Almoravides.     Thirty  thousand  Almohades,  how- 
ever sent  by  Abdelmoumen  to  pave  the  way  to  the  con- 
quest of  Spain,  disembarked  at  Algesiras,  in  1146  j  the 
Almoravides  sought  a  last  refuge  in  the  island  of  Ma- 
iorca  (II 57)  ;  and  the  Almohades  triumphed  definitively 
over  their  foes  in  Andalusia  in  the  same  year,  ever  mem- 
orable for  the  death  of  Abdelmoumen's  renowned  rival 
in  fortune  and  glory,  the  Emperor  Alfonso  VII.,  which 
took  place  in  a  last  enterprise  against   the   Saracens. 
His  death  contributed  more  than  anything  else  to  estab- 
lish the  domination  of  the  Almohades,  accomplished,  it 
would  seem,  without  the  presence  of  their  chief ;  but 
the  death  of  Abdelmoumen  in  1162,  gave  a  great  shock 
to  the  recently  established  kingdom.     The  last  years  of 
Abdelmoumen's  life  were  consecrated  to  the  administra- 
tion of  his  vast  dominions,  now  stretching  from  the  Nile 
to  the  ocean  ;  and  in  them  he  introduced  an  order  rare- 
ly known  under  the  purely  personal  sovereignty  of  the 
Commanders  of  the  Faithful.     He  had  his  possessions 
skilfully    surveyed,  as   a  basis  for  an  exact  taxation, 
founded  manufactories  of  arms,  and  built  an  immense 
fleet.     The  empire  founded  by  him  was  one  of  the  most 


ii 


190 


To  Ferd'nmid  and  IsahcUcu 


m 


powerful  that  ever  dominated  the  world  of  Islam,  and 
its  character  in  Spain  was  less  brutal  than  that  of  the 
Almoravide  supremacy  had  been.  The  Emir  himself 
was  a  singular  mixture  of  grandeur  and  pettiness  •  sub- 
tle, bloodthirsty,  pitiless,  the  Arab  historians  celebrate 
his  liberality,  eloquence,  equity,  and  learning;  his  step 
was  full  of  dignity,  and  he  scorned  the  sensual  luxuries 
of  life. 

An  illustrative  feature  of  the  character  of  the  times 
IS  shown  by  the  conduct  of  the  ferocious  grandee,  Rod- 
ngo  of  Lara,  one  of  the  strangest  types  of  the  indomi- 
table race  of  Castilian  ricos  omes.  He  had  his  prisoners 
harnessed  with  oxen  to  the  plough,  forced  them  to  eat 
grass  in  the  fields  and  straw  in  the  stables,  and  drink 
water  out  of  the  marshes ;  and  when  he  was  tired  of 
this  pastime  sent  them  home  naked  and  despoiled  of 
ever}'thing  they  had. 

Alfonso  the  Fighter,  first  of  the  great  kings  of  Aragon 
seems  to  have  fallen  on  the  champ  dolent  of  Fraga  fightinc^ 
against  the  Mussulmans.     His  passion  for  the  fray  won 
him  the  title  of  EI  Batallador,  and  but  for  the  c^vil 
wars  that  desolated  his  reign,  -  if  Alfonso  of  Castile  and 
Alfonso  of   Aragon    had  united  their  forces,  —  Spain 
might  have  been  freed,  three  hundred  years  before  it 
was,  from  the  odious  minions  of  Islam.     The  Ara-on- 
ese  hero  greatly  extended  his  realm  at  the  expense"*  of 
the  Moors,  conquered  Saragossa,  and,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Pyrenees,  had  as  vassals  nearly  all  the  French 
and  Basque  lords  of  the  frontier.     He  bequeathed  his 
kingdom,  for  lack  of  immediate  heirs,  to  the  orders  of 
St.  John,  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  Holy  Sepulchre      The 
cartes  refused  to  execute  the  king's  will,  and  gave  the 


The  Lex  Vixujothorum. 


193 


crown  to  the  monk,  Ramiro  11.,  brother  of  the  king. 
Navarre  seized  the  opportunity  to  throw  off  the  Ara- 
eonese  voke,  and  elected  as  its  king,  Garcia  Ramirez, 
called  tlL   Restorer,  grandson  of  Sancho  III.  and  the 

^  We  cannot  pass  over  the  close  of  the  Castilian  mon- 
arch's long  and  glorious  career  without  a  concluding 
word!    He'died,  under  an  oak  by  the  roadside  at  Puerto 
de  Muradal,  in  1 157,  having  reigned  over  Galicia,  in  the 
person  of  Urraca  and  himself,  forty-seven  years,  forty 
over  Leon  and  Castile,  and  twenty-two,  as     Emperor, 
over  all  Christian  and  a  part  of  Mussulman  Spain.    He 
had   during  his  lifetime  given  to  his   son  Sancho  the 
Well-beloved,  Castile    and  Biscay,  and  to    Ferdinand, 
Leon,  Galicia,  Estremadura,  and  the  right  of  suzerainty 
over  Portugal.     One  of  his  daughters  had  married  the 
young  king  of  Navarre,  another,  the  son  of  Raymond  of 
Aragon,  and  a  third,  Louis  the  Young,  king  of  France. 

At  the  close  of  his  life  he  was  a  mediator  among  tne 
rival  princes  of  Spain,  and  endeavored  to  combine  all 
the  forces  of  Christianity  against  its  eternal  enemy. 
Though  he  did  not  give  his  country  monarchical  uni  y, 
he  gave  it  feudal  unity,  defended  the  faith  zealously, 
enriched  the  clergy  with  his  gifts  without  stooping  too 
low  under  their  inflexible  yoke,  and,  by  his  successes 
over  the  Saracens,  opened  the  way  to  the  speedy  con- 
quest of  Seville  and  Cordova. 

As,  however,  the  history  of  a  people  is  to  be  found 
much  more  in  its  institutions  than  in  the  sterile  cata- 
Toguing  of  its  kings  ;  asthe  Gothic  realm  reflects  itself 
in  the  Z...  Visigothorum,  and  the  Arabic  in  the  Koran 
so  it  will  be  well  to  glance  at  the  civil  and  political  or- 


194 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 


ganization  of  Christian  Spain  as  mirrored  in  \X.?>fiieros 
or  charters. 

The  term ///^/^x  is  here  narrowly  restricted  to  the  char- 
ters granted  by  the  kings  to  the  cities  founded  by  them, 
or  to  those  whose  privileges  they  wished  to  confirm  or  ex- 
tend as  an  inducement  to  keep  them  settled.    Unwritten 
fueros,  or  bodies  of  customs  and  usages,  existed  in  Spain 
long  before  written  ones.     The  first  of  the  written ///^r^j 
seems  to  have  been  that  of  Leon,  granted  by  Alfonso 
V.   in   1 020.     This  is  the  most  ancient  monument  of 
Spanish  jurisprudence.      Then   came  that  of    Naxera, 
granted  by  Sancho  the  Great,  of  Navarre;  then  that  of 
Burgos,  about  1039 ;  but  it  is  especially  to  Alfonso  VI., 
the  conqueror  of  Toledo,  that  is  due  the  majority  of  the 
fueros  of  this  golden  age  of  Spanish  municipal  legisla- 
tion.    The  famous  fuero  viejo  of  Castile  was  conceded 
by  Count  Sancho  (995-1015)  —  incontestably  the  oldest 
of  the  customary  codes,  though  whether  the  first  writ- 
ten or  not  is  controverted.      It  reappears,  under  mani- 
fold forms,  all  through    the   municipal   history  of  the 
peninsula.     Most  of  these  municipal  codes  were  entirely 
local    and  derived   from   custom,  and  the  forum  jiidi- 
cum  of  the  Goths.     A  wonderful  spirit  of  liberty  and 
conciliation  prevails  through  them  all,  and  out  of  them 
grew  that  jealous  pride  of  independence  so   character- 
istic of  Mediaeval  Spain.     They  encouraged  by  special 
concessions  the  growth  of  communities,  restricted  the 
authority  of  the  great  lords,  augmented  the  power  of 
the  throne,  recognized  the  sanctity  of  the  household, 
established  equality  before  the  law  for  all  members  of  a 
community,  gave  right  of   asylum  and    citizenship   to 
Jews,  carefully  regulated  taxation,  encouraged  the  growth 


Eternal  Dissensions, 


195 


of  population  by  branding  bachelorhood  with  igno- 
miny, founded  a  rigorous  penal  code  for  crimes  of  every 
description  ;  and  thus,  under  their  influence,  in  the  ad- 
vanced and  desolate  plains  of  La  Mancha  and  Estre- 
madura,  close  to  the  ever-menacing  Mussulman,  sprang 
up  a  series  of  poblaciones,  or  communities,  clustered 
about  castles  and  fortresses,  which  became  permeated 
with  the  spirit  of  freedom,  —  still  in  bonds  to  feudal  ob- 
servance, to  be  sure,  but  possessed  of  a  power  which  of- 
fered the  surest  guarantees  against  the  encroachments  of 
the  nobles. 

The  only  thing  that  held  the  Christian  sovereignties 
of  Spain  together,  the  only  thing  which,  after  religion, 
they  had  in  common,  was  the  war  against  the  Moors. 
The  regularity  of  this  hundreds-of-years-old  crusade 
gave  to  their  military  habitudes  a  fixity  and  prominence 
which  it  will  be  well  for  a  moment  to  examine. 

Spain,  divided  by  eternal  dissensions,  would  have 
sunk  beneath  the  Mussulman  yoke,  had  not  certain  per- 
manent military  organizations  been  constituted  whose 
profession  it  was  to  war  to  the  death  against  the  com- 
mon foe.  Hence  the  origin  of  the  three  military  orders 
of  Calatrava,  Alcantara,  and  Santiago,  dating  from  the 
twelfth  century,  which  were  suggested,  probably,  either 
by  the  Eastern  crusades,  or  by  the  religious  and  military 
system  of  the  Rahhit,  or  guardians  of  the  frontier, 
under  the  Omaiyade  empire.  Such  organizations  be- 
came a  military  necessity,  and  were  encouraged  in  1122, 
by  Alfonso  the  Fighter,  who  bequeathed  his  kingdom  to 
the  Hospitallers  of  St.  John,  and  the  Knights  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre.  They  settled  in  orreat  numbers  in  Ara2:on. 
about  1 143,  whence  they  spread  to  Castile.     The  order 


196 


To  Ferdinand  ajid  Isabella. 


of  Santiago  grew  out  of  a  band  of  penitent  robbers  in 
1 1 60,  who  wished  in  this  way  by  implacable  warfare 
against  the  infidels,  to  expiate  their  crimes ;  and  this 
was  preceded  and  followed  by  others. 

An  auxiliary  system  of  Almogavares  or  scouts,  Ada- 
lides  or  guides,  and  Alfaqueqnes  or  dragomans,  used  in 
interpreting  and  the  redemption  cf  prisoners,  assisted 
the  armies  in  their  campaigns.  Thus  Spain  distin- 
guished itself  from  feudal  Europe,  no  less  by  its  pecu- 
liar military  organization  than  by  its  free  growth  of  the 
individual  and  the  community,  each  more  or  less  sub- 
ject to  the  feudal  classifications,  but  both  modifying  their 
inflexible  character  by  an  elective  principle,  a  conscious- 
ness of  individual  worth,  a  Germanic  sense  of  manhood 
unknown  to  contemporary  Europe.  We  find  the  Span- 
ish comunero  soldier  and  citizen  at  once  ;  electing  his 
counsellors  in  the  community  and  his  chiefs  on  the  field 
of  battle ;  and  the  kinship  between  him  and  the  free 

Gothic  warrior  is  strong  enough. 

The  division  of  his  kingdom  by  the  emperor,  between 
his  sons  Sancho  of  Castile  and  Ferdinand  of  Leon, 
greatly  enfeebled  the  ascendency  which  the  first  of  these 
states  had  begun  to  exercise  over  Christian  Spain. 
Sancho's  death  in  11 58  delivered  Castile  over  to  a  mi- 
nority of  ten  years,  in  the  person  of  his  young  son,  Al- 
fonso VIII.,  called  the  Little  King —  a  period  of  anarchy 
and  intrigue,  fortunately  closed  in  1 170  by  a  truce  with 
Navarre,  and  a  closer  alliance  with  Aragon,  against  Al- 
fonso's uncle,  Ferdinand  II.  Eighteen  years  after, 
Ferdinand  II.  of  Leon  died,  bequeathing  his  crown  to 
his  son,  Alfonso  IX.  Portugal  was  elevated,  by  a  bull 
of  Pope  Alexander  III.,  into  a  kingdom  under  Sancho 
L(ii79). 


A  .Su'perannuatecl  Voluptu».r<j. 


197 


Abdelmoumen  bad  left  his  vast  heritage  to  his  son, 
the   Cid    Yousof,    a  liberal,  humane,  and    enlightened 
prince,  to  whom   Spain  owed  the  beautiful  mosque  of 
Seville  (whose  tower  and  patio  are  still  standing),  who 
built  magnificent  quais  and  magazines,  brought  the  pure 
mountain  water  into  the  city  by  an  dqueduct  still  ex- 
tant, and  spanned  the  Guadalquivir  with  a  bridge.     He 
was'massacred  while  besieging  Santarem  in  Portugal,  in 
1184  and  was  succeeded  by  Yacoub,  one  of  his  eigh- 
teen'sons.     In  the  mighty  battle  of  Marcos   (between 
Cordova   and  Calatrava),  fought  in    1195,   "  ^^^  sent 
terror  into  the  soul  of  Alfonso,"  says  an  Arabian  chron- 
icle  and  the  Christians  were  utterly  routed  by  Yacoub. 
A  space   of  one  hundred  and  twelve  years  separated 
this  disaster  from  that  of  Zallaca,  but,  like  most  Mus- 
sulman victories,  it  was  fruitless  in  consequence  of  the 
absurd  incompetence  of  the  commanding  officers.     Ex- 
actly one  hundred  years  after  the  death  of  the  Cid,  Ya- 
coub expired,  a  superannuated  voluptuary,  in  the  midst 
of  the  delights  of  his  Alcazar.     Under  him  the  Almo- 
hade  empire  attained  its  highest  splendor,  with  Alarcos 
as  its  culminating  point.     But  this  was  the  last  great 
success  of  the  Crescent  in  Spain,  and  its  humiliating 
memory  was  soon  extinguished  by  the  glorious  triumph 
of  Las  Navas  de  Tolosa  (12 12). 

Pedro  II.  ascended  the  throne  of  Aragon  in  1196, 
on  the  death  of  his  father,  Alfonso  IL,  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  accomplished  of  the  Aragonese 
kings  a  famous  patron  of  the  gaie  science,  and  a  trouba- 
dour himself.  The  daughter  of  Sancho  V.,  the  Wise, 
of  Navarre,  married  Richard  the  Lion-hearted,  thus 
binding  by  one  more   link  the  kingdoms  of  Spain  with 


198 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 


the  court  of  England.     Sancho    the  Strong  (VI.),  fol- 
lowed his  father  on  the  throne   of  Navarre,  and  made 
himself   despicable    by   his  alliance   with  the  emir   of 
Morocco.     Amicable  relations  were  partially  established 
between  Alfonso  of  Castile   and  the  king  of  Leon,  by 
the  marriage  of  the  latter  with  Berenguela  (hqS^'aI- 
fonso's  daughter.     Of  this  union  was  born,   in    i'iqq, 
Saint  Ferdinand  (III.),  who  conquered  Seville  and  Cor- 
dova,  though  the    near  relationship  of  the   two  com- 
pelled their  separation  in  1204.     Louis  VIII.  of  France 
married   Blanca,  another  of   his    daughters,  and    their 
son  became  Saint  Louis  of  France. 

Pedro  II.  of  Aragon,  following  the  policy  of  Sancho 
I.,  who  had  engaged  to  pay  the  Ploly  See  a  tribute  of 
five  hundred  gold  pieces,  went  to  Rome  and  placed  his 
crown  under  the  spiritual  sovereignty  of  Pope  Innocent 
III.,  —  an  event  of  dismal  result   for  Aragon,  against 
which  the  proud  nobility  of  the  land  murmured  loudly. 
It  was  in  his  day  that  Simon  de  Montfort  undertook 
his  famous  expedition  against  the  heretics  of  Langue- 
doc,  during  which  the  romantic  and  inconsistent  Pedro, 
fighting  against  him,  and  hence  against  the  Holy  Father, 
was  slain,  and  deprived  of  sepulture  for  six  months  as 
an   enemy  of  God   and   the  church.     During  his  reign 
the  power  of  the  ricos  omes  was  much  diminished,  and  the 
power  of  ^h^justiza  increased.     Sancho  IV.  of  Navarre, 
died  in  1234,  and  his  narrow  kingdom,  shut  in  on  all 
sides  in  the  direction  of  Spain,  inclined  toward  France, 
with  whose  history  it  is  henceforth  bound  up. 

Mohammed,  the  son  of  Yacoub,  had  now  become  the 
Emir  of  Africa  and  Spain.  The  emir,  —  whose  unpar- 
donable   delay  before    Salvatierra,  made   the  Arabian 


An  Important  Date. 


199 


chronicler  say,  "  that  a  swallow  had  time  to  build  her 
nest  under  the  roof  of  his  tent,  raise  her  young,  and 
fly  away  with  them  before  Salvatierra  was  taken  "  —  ad- 
vanced against  Alfonso  with  half  a  million  of  men.  Cru- 
saders "  swarmed  to  Toledo  from  France,  Italy,  Ger- 
many, and  all  parts  of  Europe,  at  the  call  of  Innocent 
III.,"  to  prevent  Spain  from  being  again  subjugated. 
MaMy  of  the  Mussulman  soldiers  were  chained  together 
to  prevent  their  fleeing,  but  the  battle,  fought  near  Las 
Navas  de  Tolosa,  turned  in  favor  of  the  Spaniards, 
when  sixty  thousand  of  the  Andalusian  Arabs,  who 
despised  the  Almohade  Berbers,  turned  their  backs  and 
fled.  From  one  hundred  thousand  to  two  hundred 
thousand  Mussulmans  are  said  to  have  fallen,  and  only 
fifty  (!)  Spaniards. 

The  day  of  Las  Navas,  after  that  of  the  Guadalete,  is 
the  most  important  date  in  Spanish  history.  The  flood 
of  invasion,  from  that  day  became  a  receding  one,  and 
the  Arabian  empire,  five  hundred  years  old,  began  to 
disappear.  Twice  in  two  hundred  years  the  inferior 
African  race  had  conquered  and  lost  the  empire  of  the 
peninsula.     Zallaca  was  avenged  ! 

The  iron  chain  which  surrounded  the  tent  of  the  emir 
passed  into  the  coat  of  arms  of  Navarre,  and  thence  to 
the  arms  of  France. 

Mohammed  died  of  poison  in  12 13  and  was  followed 
by  his  son,  Yousof.  Alfonso  VIII.  expired  of  fever  in 
12 14.  He  is  said  to  have  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
first  university  in  Spain  at  Palencia,  in  1209,  confirmed 
and  extended  \htfueros  of  his  states,  and,  by  the  happy 
alliances  of  his  daughters,  established  his  influence  in 
Leon,   Portugal,  Aragon,   and    France.     His   kingdom 


200 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 


Death  of  SU  Ferdinand, 


201 


fell  to  his  son,  Enrique  I.,  under  the  guardianship  of  his 
mother,  Eleanor  of  England.  He  died  in  12 17,  struck 
on  the  head  by  a  falling  tile,  and  his  sagacious  and  ad- 
mirable sister  Berenguela,  laying  aside  her  own  rights, 
placed  the  crown  on  the  head  of  her  son  Ferdinand  III., 
called  the  "Saint  "  (12 17).  He  married  Beatrice  of  Sua- 
bia,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Philip,  who  died  in  1208, 
and  it  was  through  her  that  his  famous  son,  Alfonso  'X., 
claimed  the  imperial  throne  of  Germany.  The  most 
notable  title  to  fame  of  his  contemporary,  Alfonso  IX. 
of  Leon,  was  his  establishment  in  1222  of  the  university 
of  Salamanca.  At  his  death,  Leon  was  united  with 
Castile  under  Ferdinand  III. 

.  The  history  of  the  peninsula  during  the  thirteenth 
century  thus  revolves  around  two  significant  facts  —  the 
battle  of  Las  Navas  de  Tolosa  and  the  union  of  Castile 

and  Leon. 

Ferdinand  had  a  worthy  rival  in  the  person  of  the 
heroic  king  of  Aragon,  Jayme  I.,  called  the  Conqueror, 
son  of  Pedro  I F.  and  Marie  of  Montpellier.  The  house 
of  Champagne,  in  the  person  of  Thibault,  nephew  of 
Sancho,  now  occupied  the  throne  of  Navarre,  and  from 
that  day  France  exercised  an  ascendency  over  the  des- 
tinies of  the  kingdom,  till  its  union  with  Castile  in  the 
time  of  Ferdinand  the  Catholic. 

Between  12 13  and  1236,  under  the  repeated  and  bril- 
liant successes  of  Jayme  I.  and  Ferdinand  III.,  the 
Almohade  empire  w^as  humbled  and  weakened.  Yousof 
was  horned  to  death  by  a  cow  in  1224  ;  Abd-el-Wahid, 
his  grand-uncle,  was  proclaimed  Emir  of  Morocco  ;  two 
of  his  nephews  got  possession  of  Valencia  and  Seville  ; 
and    Andalusia   became    separated   from  Africa.     The 


Balearic  Isles,  conquered  in  ii  15  by  the  counts  of  Bar- 
celona, had  been  lost  by  the  perfidy  of  the  Genoese  ; 
but  they  were  reconquered  by  the  vahant  Jayme  of 
AragonL  X..9,  -ho,  with  infinite  naivet^,  te'ls  the  whole 
story  in  his  memoirs.     In  1236  Cordova  fell  mto  the 
hands  of  Ferdinand,  and  he  immediately  ra.sed  the  vic- 
torious cross  over  the  noble  mosque,  the  noblest  ever 
devoted  to  the  worship  of  Islim,  where  he  found^the 
bells  of  Santiago  which  had  been  -rr^ed  of!  by  Ahnan 
sor  from   Compostella.     The   capture   of    Cordova    s 
memorable  from  the  fact  that  from  this  time  Andalusia 
nassed  inch  by  inch  under  the  yoke  of  Castile, 
'it  has  been'well  said  that  if  the  church  had  not  called 
Ferdinand  Saint,  history  would  have  called  him  Gre<^. 
The  keys  of  Seville,  the  finest  of  his  conquests,  were 
delivered  up  to  him  by  its  brave  defender  Abou  Hassan 
in   X246.     He  won  back  one  part  of  Andalusia  after 
another  till,  consumed  by  a  dropsical  complaint,  he 
expired  in  1.5^,  and  was  buried  in  Seville.     The  union 
of    Castile    and   Leon   gave    Spain   a  great    impetus 
towards  a  consolidation  of  all  the  states.     Ferdinand 
made  the  most  disinterested  use  of  his  Power  and  to 
him  is  due  the  great  thought  of  endowing  CasUle  and 
Leon  with  unity  of  legislation,  though  it  was  left  to  his 
son,  Alfonso  X.,  to  achieve  it. 

Valencia  had  fallen  in  1248,  so  that  the  Saracen  em- 
pire in  the  south  became  more  and  more  compressed 
within  a  narrow  strip  of  sea-coast  and  mountain-land. 
Granada  was  the  last  refuge  of  these  vanquished  prov- 
inces, and  here  for  more  than  two  hundred  years  ye  ta 
series  of  able  and  accomplished  princes  kept  alive  the 
dying  embers  of  Islam. 


202 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 


^1^ 


Jayme   I.  of    Aragon's  remarkable  reign    closed   in 
1276.     A  great  warrior,   poet,   and  politician;  a   gen- 
eral who  gained  thirty  pitched  battles  over  the  Moors 
and  founded  more  than  two  thousand  churches;   the 
most  accomplished  chevalier  of   his  times;    a  broad- 
shouldered,    blue-eyed,   golden-haired,   smiling,   heroic 
personality ;  he  committed  as  usual  the  odious  blunder 
of  dividing  up  his  kingdoms  among  his  three  sons,  and 
was  instrumental  in  introducing  the  inquisition  into  Ara- 
gon  (1232)  :  two  grave  missteps  to  some  extent  counter- 
balanced by  his  enlightened  love  of  the  arts,  his  efforts 
to  simplify  the  confused  jurisprudence  of  the  country, 
and  his  indefatigable  pursuit  of  the  Moors.     The  mar- 
riage of  his  son  Pedro  with  Costanza,  daughter  of  Man- 
fred, king  of  Sicily  and  bastard  of  Frederic  II.,  empe- 
ror of  Germany  (concluded  in  1262),  was  the  source  of 
the  rights  of  Aragon  over  Sicily,  in  after  years  so  fruit- 
ful  of   important    results.     Other  alliances —  with  Al- 
fonso X.  of  Castile  and  Philip  III.  of  France  — con- 
nected Aragon  with  the   principal   thrones  of  Europe. 
A  negotiation  took  place  between  him  and  Saint  Louis 
of  France  by  which   the  latter  renounced  his   ancient 
rights   of   suzerainty   over   Catalonia,    Roussillon    and 
Cerdagne,  and   the   former  gave  up  his  feoffs   in   the 
south  of  France,  with  the  exception  of  Montpellier. 

Thibault  I.  of  Navarre  had  died  in  1253,  leaving  two 
sons,  Thibault  II.  and  Enrique.  Thibault  II.  left  the 
succession  to  his  brother  Enrique,  and  received  the 
generous  friendship  of  Jayme  of  Aragon.  — 

"  King  Ferdinand  alone  did  stand  one  day  upon  the  hill, 
Surveying  all  his  leaguers,  and  the  ramparts  of  Seville ; 
The  sight  was  grand,  when  Ferdinand  by  proud  Seville  was  lying, 
O'er  tower  and  tree  far  off  to  see  the  Christian  banners  flying. 


DESPOILERS  OF  THE  AZULEJOS  OF  THE  ALHAMBRA. 


I 


\ 


Garci  Perez  the  Valorous. 


205 


"That  day  the  Lord'of  Vargas  came  to  the  camp  alone  ; 
The  scarf,  his  lady's  largess,  around  his  heart  was  thrown  ; 
Bare  was  his  head,  his  sword  was  red,  and,  from  h^  P^-'-j^'Jg; 
Seven  turbans  green,  sore  hacked  I  ween,  before  Don  Garc.  hung. 

"  Above  all  others  there  signalized  himself  in  these 
affairs  (the  conquest  of  Seville)  that  Garci  Perez  de 
Vargas,  a  native  of  Toledo,  of  whose  valor  so  many 
marvellous  and  almost  incredible  achievements  are  re- 
lated.    One  day,  about  the  beginning  of  the  siege  this 
Garci  and   another  with  him  were  riding  by  the  side  of 
the  river  at  some  distance  from  the  outposts,  when  of  a 
sudden  there  came  upon  them  a  party  of  seven  Moors 
on  horseback.     The  companion  of  Perez  was  for  re- 
turning immediately,  but  he  replied  that  "  Never,  even 
though  be  should  lose  his  life  for  it,  would  he  consent 
to  the  baseness  of  flight."     With  that  his  companion 
riding  off,  Perez  armed  himself,  closed  his  vizor,   and 
put   his  lance  in  rest.     But  the   enemies,  when  they 
knew  who  it  was,  declined  the  combat.     He  had  there- 
fore pursued  his  way  by  himself  for  some  space,  when 
he  perceived  that  in  lacing  the  head-piece  and  shutting 
the  vizor,  he  had,  by  inadvertence,  dropped  his  scarf. 
He  immediately  returned  upon  his  steps,  that  he  might 
seek  for  it.    The  king,  as  it  happened,  had  his  eyes 
upon  Perez  all   this  time ;  for  the  royal  tent  looked 
towards  the  place  where  he  was  riding ;  and  he  never 
doubted  that  the  knight  had  turned  back  for  the  purpose 
of   provoking   the   Moors    to   the   combat.     But  they 
avoided  him  as  before,  and  he,  having  regained  his  scarf, 
came  in  safety  to  the  camp."-Such  is  one  of  the  innum- 
erable incidents  recounted  by  Mariana  of  Ferdmand  s 


206 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 


Alfonso  the  Learned. 


207 


expedition  in  the  south  — such  incidents  as  the  high- 
souled  ballad  writers  and  their  Scotch  interpreter  de- 
lighted in.  Whether  true  or  false,  their  spirit  is  charac- 
teristic, and  they  show  the  knightly  coloring  of  these 
romantic  contests. 

The  next  reign  is  the  most  important  that  we  have 
hitherto  reached,  and  of  singular  interest  to  Spanish 
literature  and  legislation  —  that  of  Alfonso  X.,  the 
Learned. 

This  prince  reigned  from   1252  to  1284,  a  period  of 
thirty-two   years,   filled   with    strange   vicissitudes    and 
misfortunes.     He  was  the  most  learned  prince  of  his 
time;   a    troubadour,    a  geometrician,   an    astronomer 
"he  was  more  fit  for  letters,  than  for  the  government 
of  his  subjects ;  he  studied  the  heavens,  and  watched 
the  stars,  but  forgot  the  earth,  and  lost  his  kingdom  " 
says  Mariana,  (in  Ticknor).     A  man  of  extensive  politi- 
cal,   philosophic,    and    linguistic   attainments;    at   one 
period  of  his  life  elected  Emperor  of  Germany,  but  set 
aside  by  Rudolph  of  Habsburg,  (1273);  the  creator  of 
Castihan  prose,  the  compiler  of  the  famous  Alfonsine 
astronomical  tables,  and  the  author  in  part  of  a  great 
work  on  legislation  which  even  now  is  an  authority  in 
both  hemispheres;  a  composer  of  hundreds  of  canticles 
m  the  Galician  dialect;  a  seeker  after  the  philosopher's 
stone;  his  chief  claim  to    recognition   is    literary  and 
egislative.     He   first   made   the   Castilian   a   national 
language  by  causing  the  Bible  to  be  translated  into  it 
and  requiring  it  to  be  used  in  all  legal  proceedings ' 
and  by  his  great  code,  his  chronicle,  his  compilations 
on  the  Holy  Land,  the  probable  translation  under  him 
of  the  Fuero  Juzgo  or  forum  fudicum,  (a  collection  of 


Visigothic  laws,  which,  in  1241,  Saint  Ferdinand  sent 
to  Cordova  as  the  law  to  be  observed  in  the  newly  con- 
quered   territory),    he    showed   the    extraordinary   far- 
sightedness and  breadth  of   his   intellect.     Ferdinand 
HI.  did  not  live  to  see  his  project  of  one  code  for  all 
Christian   Spain  under  his  sceptre   realized.     Alfonso 
attempted  to  carry  out  his  father's  beneficent  plan ;  put 
forth  a  body  of  laws  called  the  "  Mirror  of  all  Rights," 
which  did  not  apparently  go  into  practical  effect ;  then 
his   shorter   code   for   Valladolid,    called   Fuero  Real, 
(1255);  and  finally  his  noble  work.  Las  Siete  Partidas 
(The  Seven  Parts,  from  its  divisions),  called  originally 
by  Alfonso,  himself.  El  Setenario,  from  the  title  of  the 
code  undertaken  by  his  father.    This  was  a  compilation 
or  encyclopedia  of  legislative  usage,  drawn  by  Alfonso 
and  his  collaborators,  from  the  Decretals,  the  Digest  and 
Code  of  Justinian,  the  Fuero  Juzgo,  and  other  foreign 
and  domestic  sources,  so  skilfully  executed  in  style, 
that  Alfonso's  literar)^  taste  is  readily  traceable  through- 
out it.     It  forms  the  body  of  the  Spanish  common  law,* 
the  basis  of  all  Spanish  jurisprudence  in  Europe  and 
America  since   its   adoption,    in    1348,    as   of   binding 
authority  in   all   the  territories  held  by  the  kings  of 
Castile   and   Leon,  and  its  spirit  is  that  of  a  reaction 
against  the  nobility,  of  a  consolidation  of  the  monarchi- 
cal principle,  and  of  plenary  recognition  of  the  Church. 
A  sort  of  Spanish  James  L,  as  he  has  been  called,  — 
passionate,  vain,  learned,  a  singular  mixture  of  puerility 
and  strength,  — Alfonso  X.,   instead  of   expelling  the 
Moors,  and  accomplishing  the  great  work  begun  by  his 
father,  treated  with  them,  and  threw  himself  into  the 
arms   of    Yousof,     Emir   of   Morocco;  permitted   the 
*  See  Ticknor,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  37-59- 


J 

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W  - 


208 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 


princes  and  nobles  to  combat  him  and  their  own  coun- 
try ;  gave  free  range  to  the  civil  conflicts  which,  at  the 
end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  began  all  over  Europe  to 
take  the  place  of  the  Crusades ;  and,  after  recounting 
in  his  will  the  wrongs  and  black  ingratitude  he  had 
suffered  from  his  son,  Sancho,  he  left  him  the  kingdom, 
though  it  should  have  descended  to  his  grandson,  son 
of  the  heir  apparent,  Don  Ferdinand.  The  stain  of 
blood  likewise  clings  to  his  memory,  for  he  caused  his 
own  brother  to  be  strangled  in  1277,  because  he  had 
favored  the  flight  of  the  Queen  Violante  to  Aragon, 
with  her  two  grandsons,  the  famous  and  unfortunate 
infants  of  La  Cerda.  They  were  the  sons  of  Don 
Ferdinand,  who  died  in  1275. 

Ben  Alahmar,  emir  of  Granada,  virtually  founded  the 
kingdom  of  Granada  during  this  reign  —  a  compact, 
populous,  and  warlike  sovereignty  which  recognized 
the  suzerainty  of  Castile,  and  was  a  great  school  of 
arts,  sciences,  and  intellectual  culture,  for  the  whole 
country.  The  present  Alhambra  began  to  rise  under 
Alahmar's  care,  and  the  ancient  splendor  of  the  khali- 
fate  revived  for  a  time  in  his  diminutive  realm. 


CHAPTER    X. 

FROM    THE    ALMORAVIDE    CONQUEST    TO    FERDI- 
NAND AND  ISABELLA. 
[continued.] 

WHILE  Castile  was  sinking  into  the  abyss  of 
civil  war,  Aragon,  under  the  able  reign  of  Pedro 
the  Great,  (HI.,)  from   1276  to   1285,  was  developing 
extensively  within  and  without.     This  prince  repulsed 
successfully  the  French  invasion  under  Philip,  planted 
the  banner  of  Aragon  in  Sicily,  mingled  the    narrow 
current   of   Spanish   politics  with  the  vast  stream  of 
European  diplomacy,  entered  the  lists  with  the  papacy, 
and  showed  for  the  first  time,  with  his  contemporary, 
Alfonso  X.,   that  statesmen  had  taken   the   place    of 
saints  and  heroes  on  the  thrones  of  Castile  and  Aragon. 
The  Sicilians,  after  the  sanguinary  episode  of  the  Sici- 
lian Vespers,  in  1282,  expelled  the  house   of   Anjou 
from  the  land,  and  offered  the  crown  to  the  kmg  of 
Aragon,   "  au   nom    de    Dieu   et    de   Madame   Samte 
Marie."'    The  nobles  and  burghers  of  Aragon  having 
united  themselves  in  a  solemn  [/nion  for  the  defence  of 
their >^r^^  against  the  royal  encroachments,  Don  Pedro 
gave  them  satisfaction  in  an  act  (1283)  known  as  the 
Privilegio  General,  the   magna  charta   of    Aragon,    "a 
basis   of  civil  liberty,''   says   Hall  am,  "perhaps   even 
more  satisfactory  than  ours,"  granted  to   "  rebels   on 

209 


210 


To  Ferdinayid  and  Isabella, 


li' 


their  knees."  The  act  exhibits  a  striking  harmony 
between  the  character  and  institutions  of  the  English 
and  the  Aragonese ;  the  love  of  freedom,  of  law,  of 
independence  of  the  individual,  of  private  and  political 
rights,  and  the  restoration  of  ancient  franchises,  rather 
than  the  conquest  of  new. 

Pedro  bequeathed  Aragon,  Catalonia,  and  Valencia, 
to  his  eldest  son,  Alfonso,  with  the  suzerainty  of 
Majorca,  Cerdagne,  and  Roussillon,  and  to  Don  Jayme, 
his  second  son,  the  kingdom  of  Sicily,  and  the  Italian 
conquests. 

From  1284  to  1295  Sancho  IV.  exercised  vigorous 
sway  over  Castile;  *' immediately,"  says  the  chronicle, 
"  all  the  wars  ceased  as  if  by  enchantment,  as-  soon  as 
men  knew  Sancho  was  king!"  He  drove  the  emir 
of  Morocco,  in  1291,  back  into  Africa,  and  closed  his 
too  brief  life  in  1295,  leaving  his  kingdom  to  his  son, 
the  minor,  Ferdinand  IV.,  (called  T/ie  Put-off^  with  his 
mother,  Dona  Maria,  as  guardian.  Sancho  recon- 
structed the  power  which  Alfonso  X.  had  let  drop  to 
pieces,  and  effaced  by  the  vigor  of  his  government,  the 
crime  of  having  killed  his  father  of  grief.  Ferdinand 
died,  affected  by  a  sort  of  superstitious  terror,  in  13 12. 
It  seems  that  the  king  had  caused  two  gentlemen, 
accused  of  murder,  to  be  put  to  death  without  judicial 
inquiry.  They  protested  their  innocence,  and  sum- 
moned the  king  to  appear  in  thirty  days,  before  the 
tribunal  of  God.  Ferdinand's  health,  already  under- 
mined, rapidly  gave  way,  and  he  expired  at  the  very 
hour  when  the  thirty  days  ran  out. 

During  his  reign  was  begun  in  Aragon  and  Castile  the 
well  known  process  against  the  Templars,  —  initiated  in 


THE  VASE  OF  THE  ALHAMBRA 


(jfl 


210 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 


their  knees."  The  act  exhibits  a  striking  hannony 
between  the  character  and  institutions  of  the  Enjrlish 
and  the  Aragonese ;  the  love  of  freedom,  of  law,  of 
independence  of  the  individual,  of  private  and  political 
rights,  and  the  restoration  of  ancient  franchises,  rather 
than  the  conquest  of  new. 

Pedro  bequeathed  Aragon,  Catalonia,  and  Valencia, 
to  his  eldest  son,  Alfonso,  with  the  suzerainty  of 
Majorca,  Cerdagne,  and  Roussillon,  and  to  Don  Jayme, 
his  second  son,  the  kingdom  of  Sicily,  and  the  Italian 
conquests. 

From  1284  to  1295  Sancho  IV.  exercised  vigorous 
sway  over  Castile;  "immediately,"  says  the  chronicle, 
"  all  the  wars  ceased  as  if  by  enchantment,  as  soon  as 
men  knew  Sancho  was  king ! "  He  drove  the  emii 
of  Morocco,  in  1291,  back  into  Africa,  and  closed  his 
too  brief  life  in  1295,  leaving  his  kingdom  to  his  son, 
the  minor,  Ferdinand  IV.,  (called  yy/^f/^///-^?^)  with  his 
mother.  Dona  Maria,  as  guardian.  Sancho  recon- 
structed the  power  which  Alfonso  X.  had  let  drop  to 
pieces,  and  effaced  by  the  vigor  of  his  government,  the 
crime  of  having  killed  his  father  of  grief.  Ferdinand 
died,  affected  by  a  sort  of  superstitious  terror,  in  13 12. 
It  seems  that  the  king  had  caused  two  gentlemen, 
accused  of  murder,  to  be  put  to  death  without  judicial 
inquir>\  They  protested  their  innocence,  and  sum- 
moned the  king  to  appear  in  thirty  days,  before  the 
tribunal  of  God.  Ferdinand's  health,  already  under- 
mined, rapidly  gave  way,  and  he  expired  at  the  very 
hour  Avhen  the  thirtv  davs  ran  out. 

During  his  reign  was  begun  in  Aragon  and  Castile  the 
well  known  process  against  the  Templars,  —  initiated  in 


IHE  VASE  OF  THE  ALHAMBRA 


The  Ricot   Omes. 


213 


I 


France  by  Philip  the  Fair,-whose  order  was  d.sso  ved  m 
xlia  after  a  duration  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-four 
vears  In  Aragon,  Castile,  and  Portugal,  however, 
S  to  the  eternal  crusade  against  the  Moors,  .t  was 
allowed  to  exist.  The  imputed  crime  seems  to  nave  been 
enormous  wealth,  idolatry,  and  the  envy,  mingled  with 
dread,  which  a  vast  and  opulent  organization  inspired 

Th;  most  salient  result  of  the  reign  of  Alfonso  III. 
of  Aragon  (1.85-1291)  was  the  immense  increase  of 
the  power  of  the  rkos  omes,  or  great  vassals,  and  of  the 
communities  at  the  expense  of  the  royal  prerogative 
Alfonso's  single  claim  to  immortality  rests  perhaps  in 
three  lines  of  Dante. 

"  E  se  re  dopo  lui  fosse  rimaso 
Lo  giovinetto,  che  retro  a  lui  sicde, 
Bene  andava  il  valor  di  vaso  in  vaso.  (St.  HUaire.) 

The  surname  of  the  Magnificent  applied  to  him  will 
.ive  an  idea  of  the  main  feature  of  his  character.    Jayme 
trjustice,  second  of  the  name  and  brother  of  Al^nso 
succeeded  him,  and  ruled  till  13^:  -a  reign  filled  with 
u  cess  abroad  and  peace  at  home.     "It  is  as    ard  to 
separate  the  Aragonese  as  it  is  to  unite  the  Cast.lians, 
aWF  rdinand  tte  Catholic  of  these  very  distinct  prov- 
n  es     Tayme's  Aragonese  people  aided  him  patriotical  y 
i:  his  eiterprises  ;  he  was  invested  with  the  sover^gnty 
of  Corsica  and  Sardinia  by  the  pope  ;  S.c.ly  was  aban- 
doned ;  the  high   nobility  were   continually  struggled 
a-ainst;  the  franchises  of  the   people  protected     the 
}i,  t'hat  characteristic  institution  of  Aragon,  care  u  y 
guarded  in  his  rights  and  procedure,  and  a  universal 
respect  for  law  inculcated. 

On  the  death  of  Jeanne,  Queen  of  France  and  Na- 


m 


214 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 


Alfonso  XL 


215 


I, 
I, 


varre,  in  1307,  her  son,  Louis-le-Hutin  became  king  of 
Navarre  anfl  swore  to  maintain  the  fueros  of  the  coun- 
try. Two  years  before,  Clement  V.  had  abandoned 
Rome  and  estabUshed  himself  at  Avignon,  thus  put- 
ting the  pontificate  into  the  hands  of  Philip  the  Fair. 
The  coronation-feast  of  Jeanne  of  Navarre,  daughter  of 
Louis-le-Hutin,  and  her  husband,  the  Comte  d'Evreux,  in 
1329,  was  enlivened  by  the  episode  of  the  massacre  of 
ten  thousand  Jews  in  the  city  of  Estella. 

The  series  of  great  princes  that  succeeded  one  another 
in  Aragon  continued  through  Jayme  II.  and  Alfonso 
IV.  the  Befiign,  to  Pedro  IV.,  son  of  the  last.  The 
noble  figure  of  Pedro  IV.  already,  in  his  father's  life- 
time, overshadowed  his  parent's.  The  furious  wars 
between  Aragon  and  Genoa  —  the  great  commercial 
competitors  of  the  Mediterranean  —  assumed  a  charac- 
ter of  ferocity  under  Alfonso,  which  recalls  the  struggle 
between  Rome  and  Carthage,  on  a  sea  where  the  blood- 
thirsty rivals,  in  their  passion  for  commerce,  were 
doomed  to  meet  at  ever)-  point. 

''  Castile  has  just  lost  one  of  its  noblest  kings,"  cried 
the  Emir  of  Granada  at  the  death  of  Alfonso  XI.  in  1350, 
and  the  Emir  and  his  chieftains  wore  mourning  for  the 
deceased  king  and  let  his  body  pass  undisturbed.  He 
died  of  the  Black  Death,  near  Gibraltar,  —  a  pestilence 
then  devastating  Europe. 

The  cortes  of  Alcala  in  1348,  is  celebrated  for  the 
proclamation  of  the  Partidas  as  national  laws,  "  in  as 
far  as  they  were  not  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  king- 
dom, to  God,  and  to  reason." 

The  serms  of  ultramontanism  and  monarchical  abso- 
lutism  contained  in  Alfonso  X.'s  code,  bore  abundant 


fruit  in  the  following  reigns.     About  1330,  Alfonso  Xi. 
began  the  liaison  with  Leonora   de  Guzman,  who  be- 
came the  mother  of  Don  Enrique  of  Trastamara,  slayer 
of  his  brother,  Don  Pedro,  king  of  Castile.    Her  beauty 
and  charms  had   fascinated  the    inconstant    monarch. 
Inflexibly  just,  Alfonso  did  all  he  could  to  reduce  the 
brawling  grandees  to  obedience  ;  he  razed  their  castles, 
summoned  them  to  lay  down  their  arms  and  resort  to 
legal  means  to  terminate  their  feuds;  and  utilized  their 
newly  harmonized  strength  in  the  great  battle  of  Rw 
Salado,  against  the  Moors,  in  1340.     Here  infidels  fel 
in  miraculous  abundance  -  two  hundred  thousand  out 
of  five  hundred  thousand  ;  and  Christians  in  miraculous 
paucity -twenty  Castilians !     And  from  this  day  for- 
ward Africa  was  pushed  back  forever  beyond  the  strait ; 
the  emirate  of  Granada,  abandoned  to  itself,  sank  more 
and  more  in  the  face  of  the  Christian  monarchies  per- 
petually on  the  alert  to  seek  out  its  ruin  ;  and  the  way 
was  opened  for  the  Catholic  kings  to  fulfil  their  vows 
of  putting  the  misbelievers  from  the  land.     The  battle 
was  fought  near  Algeziras,  opposite  Gibraltar,  against 
the  almost  countless  hosts  of  the  two   allied  Emirs  of 
Morocco  and  Granada. 

This  is  the  last  of  the  Alfonsos  of  Castile,  until  the 
coronation  of  Alfonso  XH.  in  our  days. 

Don  Pedro  of  Castile,  first  of  the  name,  left  behind, 
in  his  sobriquet  of  Cruel,  the  memory  of  a  Tiberius. 
His  cruelty  was  constitutional ;  he  had  an  instinctive 
thirst  for  blood ;  he  was  an  unmanageable  voluptuary ; 
and  he  murdered  right  and  left  within  the  limits  of  his 
own  family  until  he  had  nearly  extirpated  it.  He  died, 
stabbed   to  the  heart  in  a  fierce  struggle  with  his  half- 


216 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 


brother  Don  Enrique,  in  1369,  leaving  enormous  wealth 
in  diamonds,  gold  and  silver,  and  precious  stuffs,  and 
became  ever  memorable  for  his  illegitimate  union  with 
Dona  Maria  de  Padilla,  a  noble  Spanish  lady ;  for  the 
murder  of  his  unfortunate  wife,  Blanche  of  France,  of  the 
lineage  of  the  fletir  de  lys ;  for  his  implacable  rigor 
towards  the  nobles  ;  and  his  base  covetousness,  perfidy, 
and  vulgarity.  A  Jew,  Samuel  Levi,  as  usual  with  the 
Castilian  kings,  was  his  treasurer,  and  Pedro's  base 
treachery  to  him  is  historical.  He  was  contemporary  with 
that  Don  Pedro  of  Portugal  whose  amours  with  Inez  de 
Castro  have  gained  such  tragic  celebrity.  The  pope 
launched  the  interdict  against  him  "  as  an  adulterer  and 
bigamist,  the  enemy  of  God  and  the  church."  His 
rupture  with  Aragon  in  1356  brought  the  Castilian  flag 
under  the  walls  of  one  of  the  Aragonese  capitals  and 
cost  the  king  of  Aragon  his  crown  and  life.  He  slew 
the  grandmaster  of  Santiago  (his  half-brother)  ;  the  Ad- 
elantado  of  Castile  (Garcilaso  de  la  Vega)  ;  the  mother 
of  his  half-brothers ;  the  Infant  Don  Juan  of  Aragon  ; 
his  own  aunt  Dona  Leonora  of  Aragon  ;  Don  Juan  and 
Don  Pedro  (his  half  brothers)  ;  and  a  long  list  of  other 
relations  and  friends.  The  death  of  Dona  Maria  de 
Padilla  — pure-hearted,  good,  and  charitable  as  she 
was  —  filled  him  with  a  frenzy  of  love  and  despair. 
The  emir  of  Granada  with  fifty  of  his  noblest  sheikhs, 
who  had  sought  the  hospitality  of  Pedro,  had  their 
throats  cut  in  Seville  by  his  order  (1362).  In  his  bitter 
war  against  Aragon  and  France,  he  allied  himself  with 
Edward  III.  of  England  and  the  Black  Prince,  with 
Navarre  and  Granada,  whilst  Pedro  of  Aragon  recog- 
nized Don  Enrique  of  Castile  as  sole  king  of  that  land. 


A  Barefooted  King. 


217 


and  strengthened  himself  by  the  project  of   a  double 
marriage  between  the  houses  of  France  and  Aragon. 
Pedro's  superstition  was  at  least  equal  to  his  ferocity 
and  impurity ;  for,  escaping  from  imminent  danger  in 
1365,  he  ran  to  church  barefooted,  in  his  shirt,  with  a 
rope'round  his  neck,  to  thank  "Madame  Sainte  Marie" 
for  saving  his  life.     Unfortunately  for  him,  France  was 
then  scourged  by  the  host  of  Breton  adventurers  called 
the  Great  Companies ;  men  habituated  to  live  on  plunder, 
reduced  to  inactivity  by  the  peace  just  concluded  with 
England,  and  threatening  universal  disorder  to  the  realm 
of    Charles  V.     Headed  by  the   illustrious  chief  Ber- 
trand  Du  Guesclin,  they  were  engaged  by  Don  Enrique 
and  the  king  of  Aragon  to  drive  out  Pedro  the  Cruel 
(who  had  just  been  excommunicated  by  Urban),  and 
avenge   the   death   of   Blanche.      They  arrived   thirty 
thousand  in  number,  — Gascons,  English,  and  Bretons, 
—  in    Barcelona,  in    1365.     Pedro  fled   the   kingdom, 
after  murdering  the  archbishop  of  Santiago  to  procure 
means  for  a  new  campaign   for  the  restoration  of  his 
rights,  and  was  received  with  chivalric  courtesy  by  the 
Black  prince  "in  the  name  of  God  and  St.  George." 
The  Black  Prince  put  at  Pedro's  service  the  forces  of 
England  and  of  half  of  France.     Froissart,  in  his  in- 
imitable narrative,  tells  the  story  of  the  contest ;  and 
the  war-cries  "  Guyenne  and  St.  George  ! "  "  Castile  and 
Santiago  !  "  echo  lustily  through  his  pages.     Pedro  and 
the  English  were  at  first  victorious ;  but  the  fruit,  the 
heat,  the  air  d'Espaigne,  ruined  the  health  of  the  Eng- 
lish auxiliaries  and  caused  them  to  withdraw.     Pedro, 
after  a  brief  restoration  to  power,  was  shut  up  in  the 
chateau  of  Montiel  so  closely  that  "  a  bird  could  not 


218 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 


have  left  the  castle  without  being  seen."  Du  Guesclin 
besieged  him,  and  treacherously  delivered  him  over  to 
Don  Enrique.  In  the  savage  struggle  that  ensued  be- 
tween the  brothers,  the  poniard  of  Don  Enrique  put  an 
end  to  the  life  of  the  miserable  barbarian.  Cries  of 
"Castile  and  Enrique  II.,"  now  floated  exultingly  on 
the  air,  while  the  execrated  corpse  of  the  master  lay 
for  three  days  on  the  earth  exposed  to  the  maledictions 
of  the  Spaniards. 

«  Much  grieved  the  bowman  for  her  tears,  and  for  her  beauty's  sake, 
While  thus  Queen  Blanche  of  Bourbon  her  last  complaint  did  make: 
O  France  my  noble  country !  O  blood  of  high  Bourbon  I 
Not  eighteen  years  have  I  seen  out  before  my  life  is  gone. 
The  king  hath  never  known  me.     A  virgin  true  I  die. 
Whate'er  I've  done,  to  proud  Castile  no  treason  e'er  did  I." 

"  The  Queen  Blanche  had  been  banished  to  the  castle 
of  Medina-Sidonia,  — the  adjoining  territory  being  as- 
signed to  her  for  her  maintenance.     One  of  her  vassals, 
a  Jew,  presumed  to  do  his  homage  in  the  usual  fashion, 
that  is,  by  kissing  Blanche  on  the  cheek,  ere  his  true 
character  was  suspected  either  by  her  or  her  attendants. 
No  sooner  was  the  man  known  to  be  a  Jew,  than  he 
was  driven  from  the  presence  of  the  queen  with  every 
mark  of  insult ;  and  this  sunk  so  deeply  into  his  mind, 
that  he  determined  to  revenge  himself,  if  possible,  by 
the  death  of  Blanche.     He  told  his   story  to  Maria  de 
Padilla,  who  prevailed  on  the  king  to  suffer  him  to  take 
his  own  measures ;   and  he  accordingly  surprised   the 
castle  by  night,  at  the  head  of  a  troop  of  his  country- 
men, and  butchered  the  unhappy  lady."     Such  is  the 
legend  of  the  death  of  Queen  Blanche,  as  told  in  the  old 
French  memoirs  of  Du  Guesclin,  quoted  by  Lockhart. 


Death  of  Bon  Pedro. 


221 


The  story  of  Don  Pedro's  death  is  told  m  Froissart : 
Ihe  story  Enrique  was  apprised  that 

?''  ''\ZrJZ^^^loLoi  his  followers  to 
he  was  taken,  ana  cam  „,hprp  his  unfortunate 

the  tent  of  Allan  de  la  "-^f;^;;  ^    ' L  e-'-^^' 
brother  had  been  p  aced      On  enten  g  ^_^^^^^ 

"T;;  OsS       pX  aT  i  and  fearless  as  he 
^:?  irtpea    —    —   an      re^. 
-  Here  I  stand,  the  lawful  ^^^^^fj^l^     ,    ^he  rival 
and  it  is  thou  that  art  but  a  false  bastard 
brethren   instantly    grappled     jf ^J-J  J^'^^  Enrique 

Unights  and  Du  <^^^^:^:Z!  V^l  the  face,  but 
drew  his  poniard  and  wounde  ^  ^  .^^^^^ 

bis  body  was  f^'^^^^l^J^oss  a  bench,  and  his 
struggle  ensued.     Enr^ue  te  ^^^^^^^^^^  ^.^^_ 

brother,  >^einyPPe-    ,^  ^^„  ,^,,,  , 

when  one  of  Em  q^e^                   ^^^^^  ^h^^  at  length 

the  leg,  turned  h.m  over,  ai  ^^^             ^^ 
gaining  the  upper  hand,  instantly 

the  heart.  ^rthart    "  was  cut  off,  and 

» Pedro's  head"  says  ^o^l^art,  ^^^^  ^.^ 

his  remains  meanly  buried      They  vvere  ^^ 

interred  by  his  daughter  „d.;fe  o^  our  o^^^^^  .^  ^^ 

Gaunt,  '  time-honored  La"^^ '['  ^^^j,  " 
ville,  with  the  honors  due  to  his  rank. 

,       •        ,..i,;iP  the  blood   n  bubbles 
..Thus  with  mortal  gasp  and  qmver,  «h.le  the 

welled,  .       ri,,:=tian  bosom  dwelled." 

Fled  the  fiercest  soul  that  ever  m  a  Christian  ^^^^_ 

.  nf  the  oeculiar  institutions  of  feudal 
A  glance  at  some  of  the  pecuii  ^^ 

Spain  is  necessary  to  understand  the 
the  country. 


222 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 


II 


» 


The  feudal  system  arrived  at  its  complete   develop- 
ment in  the  fourteenth  centur}%  but  in  Castile  it  was 
variously  modified  by  the  character  of  the  people.     The 
slave  was  gradually  replaced  in  the  middle  ages  by  the 
serf,   an  immense    step  towards  freedom.     Up  to  the 
eleventh  century-  the  mass  of  the  servile  population,  so 
enormous  under  the  Gothic  supremacy,  does  not  seem 
to  have  diminished.     The  permanent  w^ar  against  the 
Arabs,   while    recruiting   the   servile   population,  must 
however  have  contributed  to  the   emancipation  of  the 
Christian  slaves,  who   became  more  and  more  rare  as 
the  feudal  organization  develops.     Yet  the  slave  trade 
continued  vigorously  till  the  fourteenth  centuty;  Chris- 
tians sold  one  another,  and  Jew  slaves  existed  down  to 
the  times  of  Philip  II.     Captivity  in  war,  birth,  and 
voluntary  servitude  were    the    three    great  sources   of 
slavery-  recognized  by  Alfonso  X  ;  and  countless  minute 
regulations  existed  as  to  the  relations  between  masters 
and  slaves,  manumission,  and  the  like,   which  show  a 
steady  advance  over  the  t/iing,  as  the  slave  was  regarded, 
of  the  Gothic  code.     The  Spanish  serf,  superior  to  his 
European  brethren,  could  change  his  lord  at  will,  and 
quit  the  glebe  which  he  cultivated.     The  source  of  serf- 
age in  the  peninsula  lay  in  the  Roman  system  of  Coloni, 
a  class  intermediate  between  the  slave  and  free  man, 
and  the  Gothic  system  of  client  and  patron,  which  im- 
posed the  obligation   to  bear  arms   in  defence  of  the 
patron.     The  class  of  serfs  increased  out  of  the  debris 
of  slavery,  the  emancipated  Christian  slaves,  Saracen 
captives,  tributary   Mussulmans,  and  petty  proprietors 
who  voluntarily  became  "liege  men."    This  lower  order 
of  the  feudal  hierarchy  constituted  the  foundation  for 


Castilian  Feudalism, 


223 


the  higher  members  of  the  system :  the  high  barons, 
direct  vassals  of  the  sovereign,  and  the  vassals  of  these, 
who  yielded  military  service  to  their  suzerain  in  ex- 
change for  their  feoffs.  Early  Spanish  history  shows 
us  on  one  side,  the  spectacle  of  the  kings,  communes, 
and  clergy  in  league,  supporting  themselves  upon  the 
Gothic  code  and  the  municipal  fueros  which  proceeded 
from  the  king  ;  and,  on  the  other,  the  nobility,  surrounded 
by  its  numerous  vassals,  opposing  to  the  written  monar- 
chical or  municipal  law  its  seignorial  fueros,  as  seen  in 
the  Fuero  Viejo  wrung  from  Alfonso  X. 

The  salient  feature  of  Castilian  feudalism  is  that  the 
vassalage  it  entailed  was  but  temporary,  and  not  fixed, 
and  the  free  will  of  the  vassal  was  his  inalienable  pos- 
session.    It  will  be  impossible  to  enter  into  the  details, 
as  shown  by  the  Fuero    Viejo  and  the  Fartidas,  of  the 
nature  of  the  feoff,  and  the  laws  that  regulate  it ;  the 
relations  between  the  suzerain  and  his  vassals ;  the  dif- 
ferent forms  of  feudal  property ;  the  different  classes 
of  serfs  attached  to  it ;  the  burdens  resting  on  these 
serfs  •  and  the  gradual  growth  and   establishment   of 
heredity  in  the  holding  of  the  feoffs.     We  shall  simply 
call   attention   to    the   prominence    of  individual   will 
throughout  the  system,  resulting  in  the  factious  inde- 
pendence of  the  nobles,  and  the  progress  of  the  com- 
munities in  power  and  freedom,  peopled  as  they  were 
largely  from  the  serf  class  escaped  from  the  nobiliary 
o-lebe.     The    emancipation   of    the   territory  from  the 
Moors  went  hand  in  hand  with  the  progress  of  the  vas- 
sals  of    the   crown,    and    the   vassals   of   the    nobles 
towards   independence    and    comfort.     Political    fran- 
chises followed   local  franchises  ;  representative  gov- 


mUL 


224 


To  Ferdinand  and  habella. 


Castile  and  Aragon. 


225 


t 


ernment  sprang  up  out  of  the  embarrassments  of  the 
royal  authority  ;  and  the  emancipated  communities  soon 
began  a  struggle  of  two  centuries  with  the  nobility, 
only  to  end  in  fatal  disaster  in  the  reigns  of  Charles 

and  Philip. 

Pedro  IV.  of  Aragon,  the  Ceremonious,  in  his  reign  of 


DON   PEDRO  THE  CEREMONIOUS. 

more  than  half  a  century  (1336-1387).  was  constantly 
harassed  by  foreign  and  domestic  wars.  Pursued  from 
infancy  by  the  hatred  of  his  step-mother,  Leonor,  sister 
of  Alfonso  XI.  of  Castile,  and  queen  dowager  of  Ara- 
gon ;  passing  his  life  in  everlasting  struggle,  and  van- 
quishing in  the  end  by  means  of  a  duplicity  as  patient 


as  it  was  untiring ;   shedding  the  blood  of  his  own 
brother,  and  employing  the   sword  or  pr.son  agamst 
those  whom  he  hated  ;  his  icy  rigor  was  in  chiUmg  con- 
trast with  the  ferocious  passionateness  and  ability  of 
his  contemporary,   Pedro  of  Castile,     Vengeance   for 
him  was  a  means,  never  an  end  ;  he  could  both  punish 
and  pardon  when  necessary  ;  he  liked  to  surround  him- 
self   like  Louis  XI.  and  J'hilip  the  Fair,  with  men  of 
the 'law,  and  admitted  them  into  his  councils;  and  in 
peace  and  war  he  was  always  followed  by  two  legists 
Ld  two  gentlemen  as  representatives  of  the  two  nv_a 
orders  of  Aragon,  equally  at  dagger's  point  with  the 
high  nobility.     A  frail  and  sickly  body  enshrmed  this 
punctilious  and  inflexible  soul ;  Pedro  was  a  devotee  o 
alchemy  and  astronomy  ;  his  morality  was  a  worship  o 
conventionalities,  and  yet  he  may  be  called  the  greatest 
of  the  kings  of  Aragon  before  Ferdinand  the  Catholic 
In  1344  he  dispossessed  Jayme  II.,  and  incorporated 
the  kingdom  of  Majorca  with  Aragon.     A  great  prince 
and  politician  after  the  model  of  Machiavelli,  he  drank 
gracefully  the  chalice  of  humiliation  put  to  his  lips  by 
the  rebellious  nobles  of  the   Union,  who  extorted  from 
him  a  confirmation  of  their  privileges,  so  dear  to  the 
Aragonese.    But  he  had  his  revenge  on  the  battle-field 
of  Epila  in  1348,  when  the  party  of  the  Union -em- 
bracing the  capital  and  chief  cities  of  Aragon,  headed 
bv  the  Infant  Don'  Ferdinand  -  was  utterly  routed,  the 
ancient  privilege  allowing  the  Aragonese  to  umte  for 
the  defence  of  their  laws,  abolished,  and  the  fatal  as- 
cendency of  the  aristocracy  broken.    Pedro  however 
strengthened  the  authority  of  the  Justice  and  avenged 
himself  nobly  by  extending  rather  than  curtailing  the 


226 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 


*| 


privileges  and  franchises  of  his  people  at  the  great 
cortes  of  Saragossa.  He  prudently  took  little  part  in 
the  great  Sc/i/sm  of  the  West  (1378-1417)  which  gave  to 
the  church  two  rival  popes,  Urban  VI.  at  Rome,  and 
Clement  VII.  at  Avignon,  and  renounced  the  crown  of 
Sicily  in  favor  of  Don  Martin,  his  son. 

"  Law  first,  kings  afterwards,"  is  the  proud  device  of 
Aragon,  and  in  casting  a  retrospective  glance  on  the 
origin  of  its  special  institutions  we  are  struck  with  this 
ever-present  love  and    preponderance  of  legality  over 
force.     A  kingdom  dating  from  the  eleventh  century, 
Aragon  differs  from  Castile  in  extorting  its  franchises 
one  by  one  from  its  rulers,  rather  than  in  holding  them 
by  the  investiture  of    its  rulers.     While   Castile  is    a 
truer  representative  of  the  Spanish  genius,  Aragon  is 
its  noblest  product.     The  Frankish  or  Germanic  ele- 
ment in  its  manners  and  legislation  contributed  no  little 
to  that  passion  for  freedom  which  is  the  most  marked 
feature    of  Aragon.     Its   ricos  omes,    or  great   vassals, 
planted  themselves  on  their  Privilegio  General ;  \\i€\x 
feoffs  became  hereditary  from  the  twelfth  century ;  they 
transmitted  them   as  in  Castile  without  observing  the 
law  of  primogeniture  ;   and  their  caste  interest  made 
them  watch  vigilantly  over  the  liberties  of  the  country. 
The  various  orders  of  inferior  nobility  —  the  mesiiadero, 
his  sons  the  i?ifanzones,  who  corresponded  to  the  Cas- 
tilian  hidalgo,  and  the  caballeros,  —  all  had  their  special 
rights  and  immunities,  more  or  less  colored  by  the  same 
freedom-loving  spirit.     While  in  Castile  the  clergy  was 
nearly  all-powerful,  from  the  times  of  the  Goths  to  Al- 
fonso X.,  it  is  only  in  1301  that  they  obtained  a  seat  m 
the  Cortes  of  Aragon,  as  the  last  come  and  least  influen- 


226 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isahella. 


M 


1 . 


privileges  and  franchises  of  his  people  at  the  great 
cortes  of  Saragossa.  He  prudently  took  little  part  in 
the  great  Sr/i/sm  of  the  West  (1378-1417)  which  gave  to 
the  church  two  rival  popes,  Urban  VI.  at  Rome,  and 
Clement  VII.  at  Avignon,  and  renounced  the  crown  of 
Sicily  in  favor  of  Don  Martin,  his  son. 

"  Law  first,  kings  afterwards,"  is  the  proud  device  of 
Aragon,  and  in  casting  a  retrospective  glance  on  the 
origin  of  its  special  institutions  we  are  struck  with  this 
ever-present  love  and    preponderance  of  legality  over 
force.     A  kingdom  dating  from  the  eleventh  century, 
Arac^on  differs  from  Castile  in  extorting  its  franchises 
one  by  one  from  its  rulers,  rather  than  in  holding  them 
by  the  investiture  of    its  rulers.     While   Castile  is    a 
truer  representative  of  the   Spanish  genius,  Aragon  is 
its  noblest  product.     The   Frankish  or  Germanic  ele- 
ment in  its  manners  and  legislation  contributed  no  little 
to  that  passion  for  freedom  which  is  the  most  marked 
feature    of  Aragon.     Its   ricos  onies,    or  great   vassals, 
planted  themselves  on   their  Privikgio  General;  their 
feoffs  became  hereditary  from  the  twelfth  century ;  they 
transmitted  them   as  in   Castile  without  observing  the 
law  of  primogeniture  ;    and  their  caste  interest  made 
them  watch  vigilantly  over  the  liberties  of  the  country. 
The  various  orders  of  inferior  nobility— the  mesitadero, 
his  sons  the  ififanzo7ies,  who  corresponded  to  the  Cas- 
tilian  hidalgo,  and  the  cahalleros,  —  2\\  had  their  special 
rights  and  immunities,  more  or  less  colored  by  the  same 
freedom-loving  spirit.     While   in  Castile  the  clergy  was 
nearly  all-powerful,  from  the  times  of  the  Goths  to  Al- 
fonso X.,  it  is  only  in  1301  that  they  obtained  a  seat  m 
the  Cortes  of  Aragon,  as  the  last  come  and  least  influen- 


T/te  Justices  of  Aragon. 


229 


tial  of  the  orders  of  the  state.    The  communa'  fuero  o 
It  country  originated,  as  in  Castile,  f ron,  the  necessity  of 
neoSg  a  netvly  acquired  territory  by  liberal  immuni- 
ses like  that  of  Saragossa  wrested  from  the  rnfidels  .n 

8  by  Alfonso  I.     Aristocratic  is  the  word  which  be 
describes  the  institutions  of  Arago".  monarchical,  those 
of  Castile,  and  democratic  those  of  Catalonia^     In  Ara 

.on,  distrust  of  the  royal  power  is  as  old  as  the  rojal 

"pow'er  itself;  the  king  was  "  the  first  among  equal  . 

and  up  to  the  thirteenth  century  he  was  not  crowned. 

ana  up  lo  i  ,.,.:K„ted  to  iht  ricos  omes  ol  Ara- 

:::  'z:t:^^^^^ZX  h-  -  w.  each  of 

Torn  it  as  good'as  you  and  who  all  together  are  mo 

Itr::;c::tray:nwasin  an  attitude  of  pe 

nent  suspicion  in  the  eyes  of  the  country. 

The  position  of  the  justice  of  Aragon,  at  first  a  mere 
mouthiJece  of  the  decisions  of  king  bishops  and  .^ 
omes,  becomes  independent  on  the  ^bolmon  of  the  /«. 
ikzes  of  the  Union  by  Pedro  IV.  in  1348  ;  h.s  office  was 
SLng ;  he  was  chosen  from  among  the  gentry,  and  his 
tol  w^s  so  great  that  even  Philip  II.  was  compelled 
power  was  =     6  tutelary-  genius  and 

to  plead  before  him.     He  ^as  the  tuteia  >  , 

guardian  of  the  liberties  of  the  country.  »-  ^^'^^  ^ 
las  to  remain  at  court  within  the  "^'^^^^^'^^"^ce 
examine  cases  and  hear  pleas  in  the  k^g  s  absence 
and  pronounce  without  personal  responsibility  the  dec. 
siol  reached  by  the  assembled  grandees,  clergy,  and 

overe  "      His 'authority  continually  increased  at    he 
expen  e  of  the  royal  prerogative,  and  he  became,  finally 

.supreme  legal  protector  of  the  oppressed  against  all 


'.-.%urY» 


.#  < 


\i 


w 


2.10  To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

injustice.  A  secret  commission  of  -^"-'f-; "  *J>; 
were  called,  watched  over  his  decisions.  Ihe  bloodx 
Jeath  of  the  forty-ninth  and  last  of  the  Justices,  in 
under  Philip'  IL,  drew  with  it  the  -^-d  f  J- 
men  of  all  the  liberties  of  the  people,  and  left  a  free 
™arelr  for  the  Austrian  and    Bourbon  despotisms  en- 

"'Sween  the  commercial  Catalonians  and  the  agricn^ 
tural   \ragonese  there  were  many  differences.     Family 
names,  lavage,   literature,  dignities    manners    laws 
and  coins,  connect  Catalonia  intimately  with  the  south 
o    Franc!     For  a  century  and  a   half  the  counts  of 
Barcelona  were,  as  has  been  said,  aM  <>"  ^'^  ^  ^ 
nees  and  belonged  as  much  to   France  as  to  Span 
The  Frankish  domination  is  faithfully  reflected  m  the 
Catalonian    Usages,  the   basis  of  the   Catalonian  evil 
CO     tLtion   and  one  of  the  oldest  of    the  custo.nary 
codes  of  Spain  (.068).     Catalonia  was  emancipated  in 
he  tenth  century  from  the  yoke  of   the  Carolingian 
uL    ;  its  union  with  Aragon  doubled  its  power     so 
tZt  finally  the  troubadours  of  Provence  sang    he  ex- 
pl    ts  of  Ihe  ../.....  of  Barcelona.     Me-n^  e   -n^ 
Jnest-furious  competition  with  Genoa  and  Venice 
I  the  watchword  of  Catalonia;  the  -''f  f  ^^  "J/;  ". 
lona  could  sit  down  with  their  hats  »"  before  the  king 
-  a  democratic  spirit  pervaded  the  whole  ---I^^;  -' 
stitution  of  the  province,  and  they  guarded  th«r  liber 
ties   without    a    Justice.      Their   maritime    code    was 
famous;  the  vast  naval  expeditions  of  Pedro     II.  and 
his  successors,  against  Sicily  and  ^ardima  ga  e    he  r 
marine  an  immense  impulse.     In  its  Book  of  G.W  were 
inscribed  the  names  of  the  merchant  aristocracy  of  Bar- 


Battk  of  Aljtiharota. 


231 


celona.  Aragon  is  Spanish  in  idiom,  m  tenacity  of 
purpose,  and  in  narrow  and  exclusive  patriotism  Cata- 
lonia is  French  in  dialect  and  habitudes,  and  is  French, 
Italian,  or  Spanish,  according  to  the  interests  and  alli- 
ances of  the  moment. 

The  decade  of  the  reign  of  Enrique  II..  the  Cavalier, 
ended  in  1379  ^'th  his  sudden  death,  attributed  to  poi- 
son emanating  from  a  pair  of  boots  sent  to  him  by  the 
Emir  of    Granada.     Though   a   usurper    Enrique  was 
worthy  of  the  throne  which  he  had  gained  by  the  life  of 
his  brother,  and  opposed  successfully  the  duke  of  Lan- 
caster and  the  king  of  Portugal,  who  pretended  to  the 
crown  of  Castile,  the  former  through  his  wife,  daughter 
of  Pedro  the  Cruel.     In   139°,  Do"  J^^n  I.,  Enrique  s 
son,  perished  in  an  accident,  his  horse  having  fallen  on 
him      He  had  claimed  the  succession  and  arms  of  his 
father-in-law,  the  king  of  Portugal,  whose  daughter  Bea- 
trix he  had  married.     A  bloody  contest  ensued  with  the 
bastard  Joa  I.,  whom  the  Portuguese  had  proclaimed 
king     The  celebrated  battle  of  Aljubarota,  described 
with  such  animation  and  picturesqueness  by  Froissart, 
was  fought  in  1385,  "au  nom  de  Dieu  et  de  Monse.gn- 
eur  Saint  Jacques,"  and  lost  by  the  Castilians      The 
disastrous  English  invasion  ensued  ;  Santiago  fell   and 
the  duke  of  Lancaster  assumed  the  title  of  king,  with  the 
arms  of  Castile,  Leon,  and  France.   The  death  of  Chailes 
the  Bad,  of  Navarre,  in  1386  rid  Spain  of  an  indefati- 
gable discord-breeder  ;  and  the  withdrawal  of  the  Eng- 
lish, devoured  by  ill-health  and  failure,  left  Gahc.a  once 
more  free.     From  1388,  the  heir-apparent  of  Castile  as- 
sumed the  title  of  prince  of  the  Astunas. 
The  cortes  of  Guadalajara,  held  in  139°.  left  "^ '"*'■'' 


.L 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella^ 


M 


f 


i 

n 


232 

on  the  legislation  of  the  country  by  extensive  increase 

°^SrnrttSr.,  a  boy  o;  eleven  s.eed- 
his  father,  but  was  soon  bewailed  for  h,s  early  death 

he  vounc.  king  into  their  power.     The  Lnnrs  of  Gran- 
ia  C  meanwhile  cautiously  cultivated  the  good  w  1 
of  Castile    and  endeavored  to  live  at  peace  w  th  the 
Christ  ans      Frontier  wars,  however,  broke  out  rntermt- 
t!:;;^  and  never  absolutely  ceased  till  the  conquest  of 

"^Znthe  Careless  of  Aragon  (r387-.395),  A-t  of  tl.e 
nan'an  indolent  voluptuary,  lived  -7-*^  "^t 
".:    'father  Pedro  the  Ceremonious,  and, '^e  Ins  Ca  j 
tilian  contemporary  and  r^amesake.  was  kdled  by  a 

'Tel'a^atirof  morals  and  a  dissipated  court  resulted 

----farie^Hrrs 

brother  disembarked  in  Barcelona  in  1396,  and  sue 
«eded  in  default  of  male  heirs  to  the  kmg  to  the 
h  one  He  had  been  absent  in  Sicily,  engaged  m  con- 
■uerin:  a  kingdom  for  his  son.  The  kingdom  of  Ar- 
'g^n  whose  cradle  had  been  an  obscure  -r-^r  of  •  e 
Ivrenees  had  come  gradually  to  spread  itself  o^tx 
Pyrenees,  u^u  h  _ Corsica,  Sardmia, 

thp  three   sreat  islands   of  Italy,       v.-"''' 
the  three   g  Mediterranean    and   its 


BINDING  UP  THE  PALM-LEAVES. 


Alvaro  de  Luna. 


235 


,„_whose  heir,  the  infant  ^'^^^  !>'^fl-'^;^^l 
of  Athens  and  Neopatria,  was  earned  off  by  the  pestit 
e  ous  air  of  Sardinia-the  Italian  wars  wen  on  unend- 
ngK  with  the  House  of  Anjou.  Martm  d,ed  w.thou^ 
mall  heirs  in  1410,  tormented  by  an  unmanageable 
leJity,  and  with  him  expired  the  direct  race  of  the 
counts  of  Barcelona  who  for  three  hundred  years  had 


ALVARO  DE  LUNA. 

.iven  to  Aragon  a  series  of  kings  such  as  are  rarely 
seen  in  histor)'.     An  interregnum  of  two  years  ensued, 
which  rang  with  the  conflicts  of  the  five  contestants  fo 
the  throne.     Chief    among   these  were    the   Infant  of 
Castile,  Don  Ferdinand,  and  the  count  of  Urgel,  great- 
grandson  of  Jayme  II.     Don  Ferdinand  was  brother  o 
Enrique  III.  and  nephew  of  Martin,  as  son  of  his  sister 
Leonor,  who  had  married  King  Juan  of  Castile      The 
case  was  at  length  decided  by  arbitration  in  favor  of 


236  To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

Ferdinand  (1412).  the  matter  having  been  put  into  the 
hands  of  nine  arbiters,  three  from  Aragon,  three  from 
Catalonia,  and  three  from  Valencia 

The  reign  of  Ferdinand  I.,  the  Just,  lasted  but  two 
years,  and  he  left  the  repute  of  a  simple-hearted,  h,gh- 
mind  d,  and  irreproachable  king  behind  htm.  He  w.Uv 
drew  his  support  from  Benedict  XIII.,  who  had  taken 
up  his  residence  in  a  fort  in  Aragon,  and  appealed  to 
the  decrees  of  the  council  of  Constance,  then  s.tt^,ng 
"at  the  centre  of  Christendom,"  with  the  aim  of  resWr- 
ing  unity  and  peace  to  the  dismembered  cht.rch.  His 
early  death  prevented  the  accomplishment  of  h.s  great 

nuat'll.  of  Castile   died    in  .454,  regretting   "not 
having  been   born   in  the  hut  of  an  obscure  artisan 
rather  than  on  the  throne  of  Castile."     His  minonj 
had  been  conscientiously  watched  over  by  h.s  uncle 
Ferdinand  I.  of  Aragon,     Alvar  de  Luna,  the  bastard 
constable  of  Castile,-so  famous  for  his  enormous  power 
nd  ignominious  death  on  the  -affold,  when  Juan    ad 
become  tired  of  him,  -was  his  prime  minister.    A  sing 
in^    dancin-    weak-minded  king,  Juan's  sole  ment   in 
So^Tthat  of  being  the  ^-her  of  the  illustru^u^  Isa- 
bella (born  in  1451)-     He  married  the  Infanta  Maria 
daughter  of  the  late  King  Ferdinand  of  Aragon,  and 
then  Isabel  of  Portugal  who  brought  about  the  ruin  o 
Luna      At  the  death  of   Charles   the  Noble,  king   of 
Navarre  (387-435).  the  latter's  son-in-law,  Don  Juan 
of  Aragon,  was  proclaimed  king;  and  thus  the  bouse 
o    S'came  to  occupy  three  of  the  thrones  of  the 
peninsula,  prophetic  of  their  near  union  under  Ferdi 


A  Dancing  King. 


237 


nand  and  Isabella.     Navarre,  from  1284  to  1328,  had 
been  virtually  ruled  by  French  viceroys 

The  Emirate  of  Granada  meanwhile  (1423)  remained 
■n  neacetul  dependence  on  Castile,  interrupted  in  143° 
by        ulal  raids ;  and  Juan,  instead  of  taking  Grana  a 
al  he  might  have  done,  amused  himself  holding  Alvar 
de  Luna's  children  over  the  baptismal  font,  or  m  desul- 
tory wars  with  Navarre  and  Aragon 

Araaon  from  1416  to  145^  ^^^^  ^"^^"  ^  ^     ,  . 

.vho  died  at  Naples  in   1458.  and  left  Aragon  to  his 
brother  Man,  king  of  Navarre,  and  the  kingdom  oNa- 
nles  and  Sicily  to  his  natural  son  Ferdinand.     Alfonso 
'passed  Inost  of  his  life  in  his  beautiful  Italian  domm^ 
fons-a  sort  of  royal  emigre -^nd   through   him  the 
ool  tics  of  Aragon  gravitated  more  and  more  towards 
Ualls  a  precursor  of  the  reign  of  his  nephew,  Ferdi- 
S  the  catholic.    His  Italian  conquests  were  .  uated 
too  far  from  his  hereditary  possessions  to  add  much  to 
heir  force.     Surrounded   by    poets   and   scholars    he 
oved  literature,  delighted  in  reading  Qu.ntus  Curtms 
"nd  C^lL-s  Coi'mueiuaries,  and  dismissed  his  musicians 
..because  their  harmony  would  never  ^q-    that  of  the 
divine  Tully."     Defeated  and  captured  by  the  Genoese, 
•rrJe      naval  battle  in   x  435,  he  bore  his  captivity 
ke  r  king,  being  treated  and  released  wU    true  ma j 
nanimity  by  his  foe,  the  duke  of  Milan.     In  i443 
again  entered  Naples  in  triumph 

The  sway  of  Enrique  IV.  of  Castile,  called  the  Im 
potent    was  a   long  disgrace   and  failure  of    one-and- 
E  '  y  ars.     Gentle  and  benevolent,  his  weaknesses 
iToL  from  kindness  of  heart.     A  lule-player  lover  of 
Td  songs,  founder  of  churches  and  monasteries,  alms- 


238 


To  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 


giver,  brought  up  in  unrestrained  luxury,  and  with  vo- 
luptuous tastes,  he  fell  under  the  influence  of  the  favor- 
ite Villena,  as  his  father  had  done  under  that  of  Alvar 
de  Luna,  and  left  his  country  plunged  in  uncertainty  as 
to  the  succession. 


CHAPTER   XI. 
REIGN   OF   FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA. 

WE  have  now  reached  a  point  in  the  history  of 
Spain  when  the  numerous  petty  kingdoms  fill- 
ing the  northern,  southern,  and  central  portions  of  the 
peninsula  — Castile,  Aragon,  Navarre  and  the  Moorish 
kingdom  of  Granada,  —  different  as  they  were  in  charac- 
ter race,  and  institutions,— were  gradually  amalgamated 
into  one  comprehensive  nationality,  about  to  enter  on 
the  arena  of  European  politics  and  prepared  to  exercise 
the  mighty  influence  which  made  Spain  all-powerful 
under  Charles  V.  and  Philip  II. 

Navarre  protected  by  its  mountainous  situation,  was 
still  independent.  Aragon,  embracing  the  provinces  of 
Aragon,  Catalonia,  and  Valencia,  possessed  of  free 
institutions  and  great  moral  and  intellectual  energy, 
commanded  a  wealthy  and  extensive  commerce  in  the 
Mediterranean.  Leon,  Biscay,  Galicia,  Old  and  New 
Castile  the  Asturias,  Andalusia,  Murcia  and  Estrema- 
dura,  belonged  to  the  crown  of  Castile,  a  circumstance 
Which,  on  the  consolidation  of  the  provinces  under  one 
head,  gave  its  capital,  language,  and  literature  the  pre- 
eminence. .       ,11 

A  spirit  of  liberty,  law,  and  wise  legislation  had  been 
imprinted  on  the  inhabitants  of  Spain  by  the  Visigoths 

239 


240         Reign  of  Ferdhiavd  and  Isabella. 

in  the  fifth  centur}-,  and  this  spirit  of  free  and  noble 
development  was  greatly  favored  by  the  Saracen  con- 
quest of  the  eighth  century  ;  for,  though  entirely  dissim- 
ilar in  political  and  religious  institutions,  the  Arabs 
were  tolerant,  liberal,  and  enlightened,  and  insensibly 
inspired  their  enemies  with  the  same  principles.  The 
lax  morals  of  the  clergy,  under  the  enjoyment  of  long 
uninterrupted  prosperity,  and  the  luxurious  habits  of 
the  nobles,  were  entirely  reformed  by  this  sudden  and 
overwhelming  invasion.  The  necessity  of  maintaining 
what  little  ground  was  left  to  them,  compelled  the 
Spaniards  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  bold  and  temper- 
ate character.  The  re-conquest  was  a  matter  of  centu- 
ries. Intestine  discords  cost  rivers  of  blood.  Nearly 
four  hundred  and  fifty  years  passed  before  the  Span- 
iards had  even  advanced  their  line  of  conquest  to  the 
Tagus  and  though  ultimately  successful  in  recovering 
the  lost  territory,  it  was  only  after  the  abandonment  of 
voluptuous  habits  and  the  awakening  of  a  burning  reli- 
gious enthusiasm,  sullied  as  it  was  by  ferocious  bigotry 
and  fierce  fanaticism,  that  the  Crescent  of  Islam  began 
to  wane  and  waver,  and  eventually  sink,  before  the 
soldiers  of  the  Cross.  Romance,  poetry,  chivalry, 
knightly  accomplishments  of  every  sort,  distinguished 
these  wars.  The  Arabian  minstrels  sang  the  strange 
melodies  of  the  Semitic  race,  rich  in  sensuous  glow, 
hyperbole,  and  imagery;  the  Spaniards  were  fired  by 
the  magnificent  ballads  of  the  Cid,  while  both  sides 
were   characterized  by  more  or  less  of  Quixotic  gal- 

lantrv. 

The  exposed   position  of  Castile   necessitated  great 
vigilance,   strongly   fortified   towns,   immense  levies  of 


>  -rc;!?-^.*: 


Associated    Cities. 


248 


I 


citizens  for  home  defence  ;  and  along  with  all  this  came 
many   extraordinary   privileges    relating    to   municipal 
self-government,  protection  of  life,  liberty,  and  property, 
rights  of  jurisdiction,  election  of  judicial  officers,  and  col- 
lections and  commutations  of  tallages  and  taxes,  m  sm- 
gular  contrast  with  the  feudal  servitude  of  the  rest  of 
Europe  at  that  day.     The  first  Cortes  was  summoned  m 
1 1 69,  composed  of  one  deputy  from  each  city.    The  sanc- 
tion of  the  nobility  and  clergy  was  not  deemed  essential 
to  the  validity  of   legislative  acts,  while  the  popular 
branch  would  impose  no  tax  without  the  consent  of  its 
own  members,  collected  the  revenue  carefully,  watched 
over    appropriations    and     expenditures,    vigilantly   in- 
spected the  administration  of  justice,  entered  into  nego- 
tiations for  alliances,  voted  supplies  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  army,  nominated  regencies,  insisted  on  their  right 
to  recognize  the  validity  of  a  title  of  the  crown,  and  occa- 
sionally even  set  aside  the  direct  will  of  a  sovereign  as 
expressed  in  his  testament.     This  boldness  and  wisdom 
seems  to  have  characterized  the  Castilian  corporations 

from  the  beginning. 

Another  peculiar  institution  of  Castile  was  the  Ber- 
mandad  or  Brotherhood,  an  association  of  the  cities 
leagued  together  for  the  defence  of  their  liberties  in 
times  of  anarchy ;  which  was  formed  of  deputies  meet- 
ing at  stated  periods,  transacted  business  under  its  own 
seal,  and  transmitted  to  the  nobles  and  even  the  sover- 
eign the  laws  enacted  by  it.  Its  measures  were  some- 
times carried  out  by  force. 

Agriculture,  mechanical  arts,  manufactures,  architect- 
ure, grew  gradually  to  considerable  perfection.  Many  of 
the'  cities   became    immensely   wealthy,    and    despite 


■• 


".■ 


'in 


24-4  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 

sumptuary   laws,    expensive    pleasures    and    luxurious 
tastes  rapidly  developed  through  the  commonwealth. 

Castile,  so  called  from  the  innumerable  cas//es  which 
everywhere  dotted  its  surface,  possessed  a  powerful  and 
warlike  nobility,  the  higher  class  of  which  was  called 
rkos  hombres,  who  acted  in  war  and  peace  like  so  many 
independent  sovereigns,  were  exempt  from  taxation, 
torture,  or  imprisonment  for  debt,  could  renounce  alle- 
giance to  the  sovereign,  appeal  to  private  arms,  monop- 
olized all  the  higher  offices  of  the  state,  accumulated 
huge  estates,  and  from  boyhood  on  lived  lives  of  turbu- 
lence, self-aggrandizement,  and  martial  exercise. 

The  hidalgos  and  cabaUeros,  inferior  in  dignity  to  the 
ricos  hombres,  likewise  had  great  privileges  and  immuni- 
ties, and  formed  a  brilliant  and  chivalric  body,  ready 
for  the  tilt  and  tourney,  for  warlike  pageantry,  or  for 
attendance  on  the  king. 

The  vast  influence  of  ecclesiastics  in  Spain  must  not 
be  overlooked,  more  especially  as  they  vigorously  co- 
operated in  the  wars  against  the  infidel,  led  the  soldiers 
to  battle,  sometimes  crucifix  in  hand,  and  from  the 
beginning  exercised  a  marked  ascendency  over  the 
minds  of  the  people.  Illiberal,  licentious,  often  shame- 
lessly insensible  even  to  the  simplest  rules  of  a  moral 
and  decent  life,  abounding  in  revenues,  religious  estab- 
lishments, and  privileges,  they  powerfully  affected  all 
classes  of  Spanish  society  ;  while  the  primacy  of  Spain, 
exercised  by  the  archbishop  of  Toledo,  was,  after  the 
papacy,  the  most  splendid  gift  in  the  possession  of  the 
church. 

Along  with  the  wonderfully  liberal  organization  of 
the   popular  institutions  went  a  singular  limitation  of 


Development  of  National  Character. 


245 


royal  prerogative.    Though  the  crown,  different  from  the 

Iten'  esta'bUshed  by  the  Vis.goths,  w-  now  -  ^^^^^^^^^^^ 

elective  the  cortes  could  recognize  or  not,  as  it  pleased 

certain  amount,  or  nomniate  to  vacant  «« 

out  its  consent ;  legislative  P-^  ^y,    ^  'poters 

M.  in  union  -'•--  ^^^  ;>  ^  en^U  sai'd  that, 
were  circumscribed.     Hence  it  nas  Castilian 

at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  «"^"'7' *^^,f  ^  J';; 
sovereign  was  possessed  of  less  power,  and  the  people 
sovereign  was  y  Furooean  monarchy  at 

:Lf;:::irfrct3rr:/etoo^ 

Uept^n  mind.     Nobod>Mmag  nes     o.e^--  ^.a-l.  sys^ 
tern  was  perfecc  or  worked  P"  ^^^l^;     ^^,^  ^      ,  ^aw; 
cultivated   a  spirit  similar  to  the   "°^'^"\    { 
jealousies  existed  between  the  orders;  "  --;^"^  J^^, 
Option,   lack  of   co-operation,  -P°f  °f  .°^^]*X 
strength,  dissension,  and  perpetual  dread  of  preponder 
anceof  one  order  over  the  other,  exised  "-J  ^^  ^ 
degree      Yet,  on  the  whole,  the  Castilian  people  were 
aegrec.      ici,  Je<rrpp  of  freedom  un- 

fortunate indeed  in  enjoying  a  degree  °  ."'^  , 

known  even  in  contemporary  England,  which  d^vnuch 
to  engender  that  unmanageable  assumption  of  super  orit) 
which  slowly  developed  into  a  national  characteristic. 

The  union  with  Catalonia  in  the  twelfth,  and  the  coii" 
nuest  of  Valencia  in  the  thirteenth  centuries,  conspi  ed 
Trender  Aragon,  the  most  formidable  of  the  penmsula 


246  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 


principalities  with  the  exception  of  Castile  and  the  Ma- 
hometan state.  The  princes  of  Aragon  soon  rose  to 
great  eminence  and  though  extremely  circumscribed  in 
their  constitutional  powers,  exercised,  by  means  of  the 
Catalan  navy,  the  great  affluence,  intelligence,  and  lib- 
erality of  the  people  of  Barcelona,  and  a  varied  inter- 
course with  foreign  countries,  a  degree  of  power  through 
C'hristendom  quite  disproportionate  to  the  size  and  ex- 
tent of  their  mountainous  territory. 

In  13 19  the  three  great  states  constituting  the  Ara- 
gonese  monarchy  were  declared  by  Jayme  II.  indivisible 
and  inalienable ;  yet  separate  constitutions  were  main- 
tained by  each  ;  characterized,  however,  by  a  striking 
affinity.  Fragments  of  a  written  constitution,  said  to 
date  from  the  ninth  century,  give  us  glimpses  of  the 
ancient  code  of  Aragon.  Few,  but  powerful,  ricos  hom- 
brcs  existed  in  Aragon,  and  the  immunities  and  privi- 
leges enjoyed  by  them  were  considerable  :  exemption 
from  taxation,  corporal  and  capital  punishment  ;  unlim- 
ited criminal  jurisdiction  over  certain  classes  of  their 
vassals  ;  possession  of  the  highest  political  offices ;  dis- 
tribution of  territory  re-conquered  from  the  Moors ;  re- 
nunciation, almost  at  will,  of  allegiance  to  the  king ;  the 
mischievous  right  of  private  war ;  with  other  privileges. 
These  mighty  barons,  however,  were  slowly  stripped  of 
their  authority  by  Pedro  II.,  Jayme  el  Vencidor,  and 
Ferdinand  the  Catholic.  To  keep  the  aristocracy  within 
bounds,  haughty  with  their  consciousness  of  exclusive 
privileges,  and  intrenched  in  inaccessible  Pyrenean 
fastnesses,  required  strong  measures. 

In  1287  the  famous  "Privileges  of  Union,"  authoriz- 
ing his  subjects  to  resort  to  arms  on  an  infringement  of 


Blotted  hy  Royal  Blood, 


247 


their  liberties,  were  signed  by  Alfonso  III  and  it  was 
said  that  the  power  of  the  king  was  as  nothing  before 
^flidable'  array  which  this  union  of  no  es  couM 
bring  into  the  field.  Pedro  IV.,  in  1348,  defeated  the 
Drmg  iiuu  battles  in 

armv  of  the  Union  at  bpua,  me  idsu  yj 
w3  it  .as  permitted  to  the  subject  to  take  up  arms 
Iglst  the  sovereign  for  the  cause  o^iberty ;  and  con^ 
vokincr  the  assembly  of  the  states  at  Saragossa,  he  to  e 

he  Tnstrument  con  Lining  the  Privileges  to  pieces  wuh 
the  ^"^^'^"""""^  ^^^t.„ded  himself  during  the  de- 

SuctS    f  the TcLent,  Pedro  suffered  the  blood  to 

flrupon  the  parchment,  remarking  that  '^a  aw  wbrch 

had  bin  the  <^^Jj:^:'t:^^ 
hlotted  out  by  the  blood  ot  a  King.       ^  t> 

alcilnt  privillges  of  the  realm  and   making  salutary 
::rssions  here  and  there,  protecting  the  court  of  the 
/«Xwhich  interposed  a  barrier  oetween  tyranny  and 
-£r;opular  license,  and  adjudicating  causes  by  means 
of  this  tribunal  rather  than  by  resort  to  arms,    Pedro 
W  was  virtually  the  founder  of  the  constitutional  lib- 
ny  of  Aragon    the  cortes  came  gradually  to  exercise 
beneficent  sway  over  the   land  ;  and  Aragon  ente  ed 
on  a  per  od  of' uninterrupted  tranquillity  unexampled 
amon.^  the  nations  of  Europe  at  the  time.     Ihe  nco, 
hoSres,  the  knights  and  inferior  nofnlity,  the  clergy 
and  the  commons,  composed  the  fourfold  branches  of 
the    Aragonese   Cortes,  and   here,  as  in  Castile,  high 
consideration  was  given  to  the  commons.    Popular  rep^ 
resentation  in  Aragon  dates  back  to  1133-     A  prec^e 
parliamentary  etiquette  prevailed ;    the   crown  officers 
were   excluded   from  the   deliberations  of  the  cortes ; 
great  scrupulousness  in  maintaining  rights,  forms,  and 


248  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 


dignities  was  preserved  ;  subjects  under  deliberation 
were  referred  to  committees  ;  a  single  formally  regis- 
tered veto  from  any  member  could  defeat  the  passage 
of  a  bill,  and  the  highest  deliberative,  judicial,  and  leg- 
islative functions,  questions  of  war  and  peace,  taxes, 
application  of  revenues  to  their  specific  purposes,  the 
succession  of  the  crown,  removal  of  obnoxious  minis- 
ters, imposition  of  sumptuary  regulations,  and  granting 
or  withholding  of  supplies,  rested  in  their  hands. 

The  General  Privilege,  granted  by  Pedro  the  Great 
in  1283,  is  the  broadest  basis  of  Aragonese  liberties, 
and  is  distinguished  by  the  equitable  protection  afforded 
to  all  classes ;  it  scrutinizes  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice, investigates  the  powers  of  Cortes,  preserves  legal 
immunities,  and  secures  property  against  crown  exac- 
tions. 

The  Justice  —  an  institution  peculiar  to  Aragon  — 
had  supreme  control  in  matters  judicial ;  he  was  the 
king's  counsellor  ;  he  administered  the  coronation  oath; 
he  interposed  authority  between  subject  and  sovereign, 
pronounced  on  the  validity  of  royal  ordinances,  con- 
curred with  Cortes  in  suits  against  the  crown,  consti- 
tuted a  tribunal  of  appeal  from  territorial  and  royal 
judges,  could  remove  prisoners  from  the  jurisdiction  of 
an  inferior  court  into  that  of  his  own,  and  secure  a  de- 
fendant from  molestation  on  his  giving  surety  for  his 
appearance. 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  extraordinary  prerogatives 
of  this  supreme  court,  contained  within  the  personality 
of  a  single  individual. 

The  purity  and  integrity  of  the  court  were  maintained 
by  a  long  line  of  illustrious  incumbents,  who  checked 


AN  ARABIAN  WELL,  TOLEDO. 


» 


Catalonia  and  VaUncia. 


251 


.•     o  ^f  the  crown,  exerted  a  benign  influ- 

r    .•  •     thc^t  thev  do    not  demand  separate  discussion, 
^tbeluti  u,    u/of  Barcelona,  capital  of  Catalonia,  was 
Ir  V  cSituished  for  municipal  privileges,  unnvalled 
early  ^isUngu  s  ^^^^  manufactures  of 

commercial  prosperity,  i^^'-  benienitv 

.nstimtions   of     he   tow     Catalan,  song,  the  illustrious 

iSurfof  cilnia,  beautiful  and  poetic  devotion 
trouDdu  ^^^  usages,    ri- 

«  f r*    tVif  Vircrin.   love,   ariUb,    any^    ^^  o  r    j.l.« 

V  lied   if    hey  did  not  surpass,  the  reputation  of  the 
neighboring  Jrovence,  with  which  Catalonia  was  long 

""sl  is  a  condensed  outline  oi  ^^^^^^^f^^^g^^ 
Aragon  and  Castile,  previous  to  the  bir  h  o  Ferdinand 
and'isabella- events  occurring  respectively,  Ap  J  ., 
X40  (birth  of  Isabella,  at  Madnga),  and  March  lo, 

ilL  (birth  of  Ferdinand,  at  Sos  in  Aragon). 

1452  ^o""-"  "■■  .  KJttor  foreign  wars,  and  a 

After  long  intestine  feuds,  b'ter^orei  n  , 

disputed  succession,  the  tranquillity  of  Castile  seeme 
a   Lgth  secured  by  the  marriage  of  Enrique  III  with 
Ca  haSne  of  Lancaster.     But  the  premature  death  o 
EnlSque  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  ^^-J^^l^^^Z 
of  the  House  of  Trastamara,  which  had  succeedea 


252  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

the  throne  in  1368,  and  left  the  government  in  the 
hand  of  his  son,  Juan  II.,  a  minor,  during  whose  reign 
the  greatest  disasters  befell  Castile.  Admirably  gov- 
erned during  Juan's  minority,  the  kingdom  was  at 
length  delivered  into  his  hands,  when  his  incapacity 
for  governing,  his  love  of  pleasure,  and  his  blind  sub- 
jection to  favorites,  soon  became  obvious.  Alvaro  de 
Luna,  a  bastard  of  the  house  of  Aragon,  distinguished 
for  the  brilliancy  of  his  talents  and  accomplishments  — 
a  skilful  rider,  dancer,  fencer,  musician,  poet,  —  fear- 
less, ambitious,  and  finished  in  the  arts  of  dissimula- 
tion,—  soon  exercised  unbounded  influence  over  the 
pleasure-loving  king.  A  miser,  spendthrift,  embezzler, 
epicure,  Luna  aggrandized  himself  and  his  kindred  at 
the  expense  of  the  kingdom,  affected  royal  magnifi- 
cence in  his  expenditures  and  retinue,  won  the  blind 
partiality  of  the  king,  and  so  disgusted  the  nobles  by  his 
haughtiness  and  intolerance  that  they  soon  organized 
confederacies  to  hurl  him  from  his  exalted  station. 
Even  Juan's  own  son  Enrique  took  sides  with  the  aris- 
tocracy against  the  favorite,  and  a  prolonged  period  of 
anarchy  and  civil  war  set  in.  The  commons  began  to 
lose  all  their  hard-earned  constitutional  rights,  and 
many  iniquitous  schemes  of  oppression,  utterly  repug- 
nant to  the  acknowledged  law  of  the  land,  were  intro- 
duced and  carried  out  by  the  favorite.  The  Cortes  was 
reduced  to  deputations  from  seventeen  or  eighteen 
cities,  while  the  non- represented  cities  transmitted  their 
instructions  through  the  deputies  of  the  privileged  ones, 
the  interests  of  the  whole  country  were  no  longer  rep- 
resented, and  an  insidious  system,  calculated  to  under- 


Literature. 


253 


mine  the  political   system  completely,  threatened   the 
absolute  subversion  of  the  ancient>^r.^  of  Castile. 

S  ngularly  enough,  during  this  epoch  ^^erature  throv. 
Juan  mmself  was  an  accomplished  L^j-.-^;^-  ^j 
Let.     The  marquis  of  Villena  devoted  his  hfe  to  let- 
ters translated  Dante  and  the  ^neid,  and  refined  and 
c  Sized    the  tastes    of   his  countrymen    by  numerou      . 
works  on  poetry,  the  gay  science,  and  astronomy.     The 
Lrquis  o'f    Santillana  wrote  moral  poems   and  ^J- 
dillas  with  grace.     Juan  de  Mena,  a  genius  of  the  high 
ef  order,  composed  his  "Laberinto  "  after  the  model  of 
he  DivL  cLmedia.  and  combined  in  it  a  simp hcity 
vigor,  beauty,  and  energy  which  frequently  recall    he 
great  Italian.      Alfonso  de   Baena,   a   inverted   Jew, 
wrote  with  elegance,  and  compiled  an  antholo^,  o--; 
cionero  of  the  fugitive  pieces   of  many  of  the  smaller 
luminaries.     The  very  clash  of  arms  proved  propitious 

of  Aragon,  Alvaro  de  Luna,  the  all-powerful  minister 
opposing  Juan's  desire  for  a  union  with  a  daughter  of 
I'king  if   France,  succeeded   in   bringing   about   a 
match  with  Isabella,  granddaughter  of  Joa  I.  of  Portu- 
gal •  but  his  conduct  becoming  offensive  to  the  queen, 
L'succeeded  in  ruining  him  with  the  king  ;  possession 
was  obtained  of  his  person  by  a  violation  of  the  royal 
safe-conduct;  he  was  sentenced  to  death;  and  clad  in 
sable,  deserted  by  friends,  and  conducted  ignominiously 
to    the    scaffold,   he   was    miserably   executed       The 
wretched  king  died,  lamenting  his  misspent  life,  July 
21,  1454,  having  reigned  forty-eight  years  and  leaving 
toeechldren,  Enrique,  who  succeeded  him,  Alfonso, 


I 


11 


254  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

and  Isabella.  The  town  of  Cuellar,  with  its  territories 
and  a  considerable  sum  of  money  were  left  to  the 
Infanta  Isabella. 

Ferdinand  the  Catholic  was  the  son  of  Juan  II.  of 
Aragon  and  the  bold  and  versatile  Juana,  daughter  of 
Don  Federigo  Henriquez,  admiral  of  Castile.  Ferdi- 
nand I.  was  elected  to  the  vacant  throne  of  Aragon 
in  1 410,  when  it  had  become  vacant  by  the  demise  of 
Martin.  Alfonso  V.,  the  conqueror  of  Naples,  suc- 
ceeded his  father  Ferdinand,  but  resided  so  continually 
in  that  delightful  and  intellectual  kingdom  that  Aragon 
was  really  ruled  by  his  brother  Juan,  lieutenant-general 
of  Aragon.  This  prince  married  twice ;  first  Blanche, 
daughter  of  Charles  III.  of  Navarre,  and  widow  of  Mar- 
tin of  Sicily,  leaving  three  children,  Carlos,  prince  of 
Viana,  Blanche,  repudiated  wife  of  Enrique  IV.  of  Cas- 
tile, and  Eleanor,  wife  of  Gaston  de  Foix ;  afterwards 
(1447),  Juana  of  Castile  as  before  described.  Carlos 
was  heir  of  the  kingdom  of  Navarre  by  right  of  inher- 
itance through  his  mother,  the  elder  Blanche,  but  per- 
ceiving probably  that  his  father  did  not  care  to  relinquish 
the  title  of  king  of  Navarre,  he  permitted  him  to  retain 
the  title,  provided  he  himself  should  be  left  the  actual 
sovereignty.  Juana,  the  new  queen,  attempted  by  her 
husband's  authority  to  divide  the  administration  of  the 
government  with  Carlos,  when  civil  war  burst  forth, 
revealing  the  wretched  spectacle  of  father  and  son 
arrayed  against  each  other.  The  party  of  Prince  Carlos 
were  entirely  defeated  in  1452. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

REIGN   OF   FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA. 

[continued.] 

THE  birth  of  Ferdinand  the  Catholic,  in  1452,  was 
welcomed  with  a  delight  in  strange  contrast  with 
the  suspicion  and  dislike  with  which  the  kmg  regarded 
1-      ff  r^rmp-  of  his  former  marriage. 
The  frank  and  affable  Carlos  retired  to  Naples  whose 

.Mr=n    died   in    1458,  bequeathing  his  heredi- 
king,  Alfonso,  d>ed  ^"      «  ;      "^         ^^^^.^.^^  ^^  ^.^ 

tary  possessions  m  Spam  y  illegitimate  son 

brother  i-^-'-^fJ^^    f reconciliation    with    his 

Ferdinand.      Carios    ato    a         ^^^^  ^^  ,^,,.,pp„ent 

father  m  '46o.  .magmed  .  ^^^,.^^,,    ,,^,,,,. 

to  the  crown  ot  Aragon  wuu 

edled'  but  in  this  he  was  grossly  deceived.     His  con 

edged ,  Dur  m  perfidiously  arrested 

Hurt  was  misconstrued,   ne   wcia  p  j 

duct  was  ^^^  ^^^  devotion 

rrc^otial  -re-  .  him  that  they  brok        t 

Spt'ember  33,  u6.  having  bequeathed  Navarre  to  h>s 
sister  Blanche  and  her  descendants  conformably  to  the 
riarr  age  contract  of  his  parents.  Blanche  falhng  ..to 
Te  hands  of  her  inhuman  sister,  Eleanor  de  Foix,  died 
the  hanas  perdinand  was  acknowledged  by 

rrgleL"  d'putaS;  heir-apparent  of  Aragon,  but 


256  Reign  of  Ferdinand  mid  Isabella. 


Catalonia,  passionately  devoted  to  the  memory  of  the 
lamented  Carlos,  refused  allegiance,  and  offered  its 
crown  first  to  Don  Pedro  of  Portugal,  and  then  to  Rene' 
the  Good  of  Aragon,  famous  froin  the  fiction  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott.  The  long  and  terrible  civil  war  ended  in 
1472,  after  the  surrender  of  Barcelona,  when  the  Cata- 
lans returned  to  their  allegiance  and  sturdily  main- 
tained that  despite  what  they  had  done  they  should  be 
proclaimed  throughout  the  kingdom,  good,  faithful,  and 
loyal  subjects ;  which,  says  the  historian,  was  accord- 
ingly done. 

The  profligate  brother  of  Isabella,  Enrique  IV.  of 
Castile,  though  full  of  a  certain  sort  of  graciousness, 
condescension,  and  munificence,  and  at  one  time  ex- 
tremely popular  for  his  chivalrous  aspirations  and  his 
romantic  expeditions  against  the  Moors  of  Granada, 
gradually  lost  his  popularity,  fell  into  habits  of  de- 
bauchery, repudiated  his  wife,  Blanche  of  Aragon,  after 
a  union  of  twelve  years,  and  in  1455  completed  his  dis- 
grace by  espousing  the  sparkling  and  reckless  Juana  of 
Portugal,  sister  of  the  reigning  sovereign  Alfonso  V. 
In  this  reign  the  clergy  became  scandalously  unfaithful 
to  their  duties,  the  coin  of  the  realm  was  shamelessly 
adulterated,  the  king  abandoned  himself  to  unworthy 
favorites :  these  favorites  themselves,  after  being  lifted 
to  the  skies,  fell  from  their  high  estate,  and  organized 
a  powerful  confederation  of  the  nobles  to  oppose  the 
arbitrary  doings  of  the  king.  Enrique  was  publicly 
deposed  by  this  confederation  at  Avila,  in  1465,  and 
the  young  prince  Alfonso  was  seated  on  the  vacant 
throne ;  but  an  accommodation  ultimately  took  place 


Isabella  and  her  Suitors. 


257 


between  the  conflicting  parties  and  tranquillity  was  for 
a  short  time  restored.  , 

The  operations  of  the   confederates  agamst  the  au- 
thority of    Enrique  were   totally   disconcerted  by   tl^ 
death  of  Alfonso,  their  young  leader,  m  1468.    As  there 
is  little  evidence  to  prove  that  Enrique's  deposition  was 
ever  confirmed  by   act  of   cortes,    Alfonso's   so-called 
reign  may  be  regarded  as  a  usurpation  and  dismissed  as 
such      The  crown  was  now  offered  to   Isabella,  who 
had  continued  with  Enrique's  family  during  these  dis- 
turbances; but  she  unhesitatingly  refused  it  as  long  as 
her  brother  Enrique   lived.     A   negotiation  was   then 
becun  between  the  combatants,  which  resulted   m   a 
general   amnesty  and   the   recognition   of   Isabella   as 
heiress  of  the  crown  of  Castile  and  Leon      The  prin- 
cess immediately  became  the  object  of  a  brilhant  mat- 
rimonial  competition -a  brother   of    Edward  IV    o 
England;  the  duke  of  Guienne,  brother  of  Loms  XI  of 
France,  and  heir  presumptive  of  the  French  monarchy; 
Alfonso,  king  of  Portugal,  and  Ferdinand,  of  Aragon, 
were  among  the  suitors  for  her  hand.     All  others  were 
rejected  in  favor  of  the  lucky  Ferdinand,  to  the  great 
delight    of  Ferdinand's  father,  who  was  most   keenly 
alive  to  the  importance  of  consolidating  the  scattered 
monarchies  of  Spain  under  one  head.     The  marriage 
of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  had  always  been  his  darling 
scheme,   and   the   marriage    articles  were    signed   and 
sworn  to  by  Ferdinand  at  Cervera,  January  7,  1469- 

As  these  articles  are  important,  it  will  be  well  to 
enumerate  them  in  outline.  Ferdinand  promised  faith- 
fully to  respect  the  laws  and  usages  of  Castile  ;  to  fix 
his  residence  in  Castile  and  not  quit  it  without  Isa- 


258  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 

bella's  consent ;  to  prefer  no  foreigners  to  municipal  or 
military  offices  without  her  approbation  ;  to  alienate 
none  of  the  crown  property ;  to  resign  to  her  the  exclu- 
sive right  of  nomination  to  ecclesiastical  benefices ;  to 
subscribe  all  ordinances  of  a  public  character  jointly 
with  her ;  to  prosecute  the  Moorish  war,  respect  King 
Enrique,  leave  the  nobles  unmolested  in  the  possession 
of  their  dignities  and  emoluments,  and  not  demand 
restitution  of  the  domains  formerly  owned  by  his  father 

in  Castile. 

All  the  essential  rights  of  sovereignty  rested  in  Isa- 
bella's hands. 

Owing  to  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  times, 
the    critical    situation    of   Isabella,  who  was   vigilantly 
watched  by  Villena  and  his  spies,  and  even  in  peril  of 
being  seized  by  him  with  the  intent  of  defeating  the  mar- 
riage, Ferdinand  stole  off  in  disguise,  accompanied  by 
half  a  dozen  attendants,  and  managed,  with  great  secrecy, 
expedition,   and  hardship,  to  reach  Valladolid,  where 
Isabella  had  now  taken  refuge.    Their  marriage  was  pub- 
licly celebrated  October  19,  1469,  in  the  palace  of  Juan 
de  Vivero,  the  temporary  residence  of  the  princess,  but 
subsequently  appropriated  to  the  chancery  of  Valladolid. 
The  fair-complexioned,  quick-eyed,  cheerful,  and  chiv- 
alrous Ferdinand  was  celebrated  for  his  horsemanship, 
his  eloquence,  his  courteous  and  insinuating  manners, 
and  the  temperance,  activity,  and  simplicity  of  his  hab- 
its ;  and  his  presence  made   a  sensible  impression  on 
the  blue-eyed  and  chestnut-haired  Isabella.    Her  beauty, 
intelligence,  and  sensibility,  the  grace  of  her  manners, 
the  symmetry  and  serenity  of  her  features  and  temper, 
her  fine  intellectual  and  moral  gifts,  the  elegance  with 


Isabellas  Charms, 


259 


which  she  spoke  the  Castilian,  her  modesty  and  the 
simple  beauty  of  her  demeanor,  charmed  her  contem- 
poraries and  have  made  them  hand  her  down  to  us  d.s- 
linguished  by  every  excellence  that  can  adorn  and 
beautify  a  beloved  sovereign.  Grace,  benignity,  serene 
magnanimity,  devotion,- such  were  her  characteristics  ; 
whUe  with  These  were  combined  acute  intellectual  po^. 
ers  great  administrative  abilities  and  homely  household 
virmes  but  rarely  found  united  in  one  and  the  same 

^'Sn'the  marriage  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  a  con- 
spiracy of  the  nobles  determined  to  oppose  to  Isabella  s 
claims  those  of  her  niece  Juana,  then  --  >'--  ^^^^ 
and  supposed  to  be   the  illegitimate  daughter  of  the 
queen,  second  wife  of  Enrique.     A  faction,  made  for- 
midable by  the  powerful   names   and  interests  of  the 
P  checos,  Mendo'zas,  Zumgas,  Yelascos,  and  Punentels, 
who  had  so  recently  sworn  adhesion  to  Isabella,  now 
Lnaced  her  with    destruction  and  plunged  the  ream 
into  another  of  those  "spells"  of  anarchy  which  pri- 
odically  seized  it.     Savagery  of  every  description,  brig- 
andage, feuds  between  the  blood-thirsty  noble      mal- 
admi;i;tration    in   every   shape    and    form,     oathsom 
details  of  wretchedness,  famine,  devastation,  lust,  make 
a  picture  upon  which  the  mind  does  not  willingly  dwell. 
It  would  be  futile  to  pursue  the  threads  of  brutality, 
chicane,  and  insincerity  pervading  the  involved  negoti- 
ations, the  furious  discords,  the  pitiless  wars  going  on 
both  i'n  Aragon  and  Castile,  till  the  illness  and  death  o 
Enrique,    in   i474,   extinguished   the  male     -^  ^^^^^ 
house  of  Trastamara  and  gave  a  short  breathing  space 
to  the  nation.     Squandered  revenues,  worthless  para- 


260  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Z^aheUa. 

sites,  justice  unredressed,  treasury  bankrupt,  Castile 
dismembered,  hypocrisy,  audacity,  and  faithlessness  in 
public  and  private  engagements  rampant ;  such  is  the 
epitaph  of  Enrique  IV.  of  Castile  and  Leon. 

At  Segovia,  December  13,  147  4,  in  the  public  square  of 
the  quaint  old  Castilian  city,  surrounded  by  gorgeously 
clad  functionaries  and  invoking  the  benediction  of 
heaven  on  her  ensuing  reign  — a  tableau  heightened 
by  the  exquisite  Spanish  sunshine,  the  fantastic  old 
colonnaded  houses,  the  singularly  beautiful  situation  of 
the  city  with  its  grouped  and  castellated  hills,  the  lofty 
presence  of  the  majestic  and  slender-columned  cathe- 
dral, and  the  countless  variegation  of  clanging  bells, 
floating  standards,  te  Deums,  and  brilliant  costumery  — 
Isabella  was  solemnly  proclaimed  queen.  A  herald 
cried  with  a  loud  voice  :  *'  Castile,  Castile,  for  the  king 
Don  Ferdinand  and  his  consort  Dona  Isabel,  queen 
proprietor  of  these  kingdoms  !  " 

The  most   popular  and   opulent  cities   of  the  realm 
followed  the  example  of  Segovia  in  acknowledging  the 
accession  of    Isabella,  and  constitutional    sanction    to 
these    proceedings  was   given  by  an    assembly  of  the 
estates,  in  Februar>^     On  Ferdinand's  arrival  from  Ara- 
gon  where  he  had  been  detained  by  the  French  war,  a 
question  arose  as  to  whether  the  exclusion  of  females 
from  the  succession  did  not  hold  in  Castile  and  Leon 
as  in  Aragon ;  but  the    difficulty  was  removed   and  a 
setdement  made  on  the  basis  of  the  original  marriage  con- 
tract. Isabella's  great  tact  and  good  sense  enabled  her 
to  reconcile  the  dissatisfied  Ferdinand  without  compro- 
mising the  prerogatives  of  her  crown  ;  and  though  Alfon- 
so V.'of  Portugal  attempted  to  vindicate  the  title  of  his 


War  of  the  Succession. 


261 


niece  Juana  (whom  he  afterward  married)  to  the  throne 
of  Castile,  these  difficulties —known  as  the  War  of  the 
Succession— were  terminated  by  the  total  rout  of  the 
Portuguese,  at  the  battle  of  Toro,  and  the  submission  of 
the  entire  Christian  kingdom  to  the  victorious  arms  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella.     Peace  was  concluded  in  1478 
between  the  plenipotentiaries  of  Castile  and  France  in 
which  a  principal  article  was  that  Louis  XL,  who  had 
been  supporting  Portugal  in  the  War  of  the  Succession, 
should  abandon  this  policy  and  give  no  further  support 
to  the  pretensions  of  Juana.     At  length,  a  peace  was 
brought  about,  in  1479.  between  the  united  monarchies 
and    Portugal,    through    the   instrumentality   of    Dona 
Beatrix  of  Portugal  (sister-in-law  of  Alfonso  and  mater- 
nal aunt  of  Isabella)  and  Isabella  herself. 

Aragon,  with  all  its  dependencies,  passed  to  Ferdi- 
nand on  the  death  of  his  father  in  1479.  and  by  a  fortu- 
nate conjuncture  formed  with  the  other  principalities 
the  foundation  of  that  huge  sovereignty,  which  stretched 
its  wings  from  Indies  to  Indies  and  had  Spain  as  its 

imperial  centre. 

A  glance  at   the  internal  administration  of  Castile, 
after  the  consolidation  of  the  monarchies,  will  probably 
make  more  intelligible  to  us  the  gradual  development 
of  our  narrative.     The  thorough  administration  of  jus- 
tice   the  codificadon  of  the  laws,  the  undermming  of 
the 'power  of  the  nobles,  the  vindication  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical rights  belonging  to  the  crown  from  the  usurpa- 
tion of  the  see  of  Rome,  the  regulation  of  trade,  and 
the  thorough  establishment  of  the  royal  authority,  sum 
up  the  slow  but  sure  achievements  of  this  reign,  and 
throw  a   luminous    significance  around    the   figures  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 


262         Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

In  1476  Isabella,  seeing  no  other  way  to  check  the 
license  of  the  time,— the  plundering,  sanctuary-profan- 
ing, brigandage,  and  personal  violation,  —  effected,  with 
the'  aid  of  cortes  and  the  jimfa  of  deputies  from  the 
various  cities  of  the  kingdom,  a  reorganization  of  the 
ancient  institution  of  the   Hermandad,  though  on  an 
essentially  different  basis.     The  new  code  was  adminis- 
tered with  unsparing  vigor ;  was  to  be  universal  in  its 
effort  to  maintain  public  order ;  was  to  have  cognizance 
of,  and  summary  penalties  for,  highway  robbery,  house- 
breaking, rape,  and  resistance  to  justice  ;  was  to  exact 
eighteen  thousand  maravedis  annually  from  every  hun- 
dr^ed   households    in    order   to    equip    and   subsist   a 
mounted  policeman  whose  duty  it  was  to  arrest  and 
punish  offenders  ;  was  to  cause  tocsins  to  be  sounded 
for  the  apprehension  of  escaped  criminals  ;  and  was  to 
establish  a  court  of  two  alcaldes  in  every  town  of  thirty 
families  for  the  trial  of  crimes  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Hermandad.    Affairs  were  regulated  by  an  annually 
convened  general  Junta,     The  penalties  for  theft  were 
written  in  ink  of  blood  ;  criminals  when  punished  cap- 
itally were  shot  to  death  by  arrows  ;  and  though  the 
restivp  aristocracy  made  determined  resistance  to  being 
drawn  within  its  jurisdiction,  their  resistance  was  inef- 
fectual, and  the  whole  kingdom  soon  acknowledged  the 
supremacv   of   the    Santa   Hermandad.      The   country 
thus  swarmed  with  an  invaluable  police  which,  though 
far  from  possessing   the   discipline,  co-ordination  and 
thoroughness  of  modern  organizations,  speedily  rid  it 
of   its   dens   of   robbers   and  assassins.     Isabella  was 
famed   for  the   rectitude  and    impartiality  with   which 
she  administered  justice ;  wherever  she  went  the    Cas- 


Loyalty  to  Isabella, 


265 


tilian  chivalry  flocked  about  her,  gave  her  splendid 
receptions,  tournaments,  and  tilts  of  reeds,  and  were 
eager  to  confess  their  admiration  of  her  course  for 
ridding  the  country  of  malefactors,  by  their  loyal  and 
sumptuous  welcomes.  The  higher  tribunals  were  also 
reformed  and  reorganized ;  the  encroachments  of  the 
Privy  Council  on  the  superior  courts  of  law  carefully 
limited  and  checked ;  the  chancery,  or  supreme  court  of 
appeal  in  civil  causes,  entirely  remodelled ;  the  mter- 
ference  of  the  crown  with  its  jurisdiction  stopped,  and 
magistrates  of  wisdom,  learning  and  integrity  placed 
upon  its  benches  for  the  lucid  and  faithful  interpreta- 
tion of  the  law.  ,     ^ 

The  ancient  and  obsolete  practice  of  the  sovereign  s 
personally  presiding  in  the  tribunals  was  revived,  so  that 
the  age  was  enthusiastically  called  the  golden  age  of 
justice,  when  the  sovereign  was  seen  every  Friday  in  the 
Alcazar  of  Madrid  dispensing  justice  to  all  such,  great 
and  small,  as  came  to  seek  it.  Order  was  thus  re- 
established, judiciary  reform  initiated,  the  excesses  of 
banditti  lessened,  and  strongholds  of  violence  and 
intimidation  thrown  down. 

The  system  of  jurisprudence,  made  up  fundamentally 
of  the  ancient  Visigothic  code,  the  fueros  or  charters  of 
the  Castilian  princes  as  far  back  as  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury, and  the  famous  ''  Siete  Partidas  "  or  Seven  Parts 
of  Alfonso  X,  (principally  a  digest  of  the  maxims  of 
the  civil  law),  was  simplified  and  freed  from  the  contra- 
dictory and  embarrassing  discrepancies,  uncertainties, 
and  complexities  arising  from  this  amalgamation  of 
codes.  Dr.  Diaz  de  Montalvo  was  in  1480  charged 
with  the  revision  of  the  Castilian  code  and  the  compil- 


266  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 

ation  of  a  code  universally  applicable  to  the  subjects  of 
the  dominion.  The  "Ordenangas  Reales,"  the  result 
of  his  labors,  for  four  years,  were  printed  in  1485. 
This  code  continued  valid  to  Philip  ll.'s  time,  and  is 
regarded  as  forming  the  foundation  of  the  comprehen- 
sive work  "  La  Nueva  Recopilacion,"  which  is  at  the 
basis  of  modern  Spanish  continental  and  colonial  juris- 
prudence. 

Measures   to    repress    the    intolerant   spirit    of    the 
nobles  were  the  revival  of  the  Hermandad,  the  prefer- 
ence of  personal  merit  over  rank  in  official  preferment, 
and  a  revocation  of  the  royal  grants,  which  unconstitu- 
tionally alienated  the  public  money  to  such  an  extent 
that,  in  the  reign  of  Enrique  IV.,  the  clear  annual  reve- 
nue of  the  kingdom  amounted  to  only  thirty  thousand 
ducats,  so  that  he  was  contemptuously  called  "  king  of 
the  highways  "  only.     Pensions  without  corresponding 
services  were  forfeited ;   purchased  annuities  were  re- 
turned for  due  reimbursement,  and  the  remaining  cred- 
itors were  permitted  to  retain  such  a  proportion  of  their 
pensions  as  were  deemed  commensurate  with  their  ser- 
vices to  the  state.     Thirty  millions  of  maravedis  were 
thus  annually  saved  to  the  crown :  literary  and  chant- 
able  establishments  were  permitted  to  enjoy  their  in- 
comes.    In  the  end,  we  are  told,  by  these  sagacious 
economic  reforms  the  revenues  of  the  realm  were  aug- 
mented nearly  twelve-fold.     Hitherto  the  nobility  had 
monopolized  nearly  all  the  remunerative  posts,  obtained 
possession  of  the  greater  part  of    the  crown   estates, 
coined  money  in  their  own  mints  like  sovereign  princes, 
filled  the  country  with  fortified  castles,  and  desolated 
the  land  with  their  interminable  vemMa.     Now  they 


The  G-reat  Military  Orders. 


267 


were  forbidden  to  erect  new  fortresses,  restrained  from 
duels  under  penalty  of  treason,  and  prohibited  from 
being  attended  by  a  mace-bearer,  from  quartering  the 
royal  arms  on  their  escutcheons,  and  imitating  the  style 
of  address  used  by  the  sovereign  in  his  correspondence. 
The  popular  branch  of  the  cortes  was  treated  with 
great  deference  and  it  was  through  its  cooperation  prin- 
cipally  that    the    jealous    and    refractory   nobles   were 

brought  to  terms. 

The  grand-masterships  of  the  great  military  orders  of 
Santiago,  Calatrava,  and  Alcantara,  were  annexed    to 
the  crown,  and  the  orders  themselves  reformed.    Found- 
ed originally,  it  is  supposed,  in  imitation  of  the  monastic 
orders  of  the  Holy  Land,  the  Spanish  orders  rose  to 
great,  power  and   splendor,  and  figure  largely  in    the 
chronicles  and  legendary  lore  of  the  realm.     The  order 
of  Santiago,  named  after  St.  James,  the  patron  saint  of 
Spain,  was  founded  in  the  twelfth  century  (nys)'  ^"d 
distinguished  by  a  sword-shaped,  blood-red  cross  em- 
broidered on  a  snowy  mantle;  obedience,  community 
of  property,  and  conjugal  chastity  were  their  governing 
rules  ;  and  perpetual  warfare  against  the  infidel,  defence 
of  travellers,  and  relief  to  the  poor,  were  likewise  char- 
acteristic points,  characteristically  enforced  by  the  fervor 
of  the  age.     The  order  of  Calatrava  (1164)  romantic- 
ally originated    from  a  confederation  of   knights    and 
ecclesiastics,  formed  to  hold  the  town  of  Calatrava,  on 
the   frontier   of    Andalusia,   against   the    Moors.     The 
Templars  being  unable  to  hold  this  town,  Sancho  the 
Beloved   offered   it   to  whatever   good   knights   would 
undertake   its   defence.      Perpetual   celibacy,  —  which, 
however,  was  **  perpetuated  "  only  to  the  sixteenth  cen- 


268         Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

tury^  _  plain  diet,  silence  at  meals,  continual  readiness 
day  and  night  for  action  :  such  were  their  rules.  The 
order  of  Alcantara  (1177)  was  held  in  nominal  subordi- 
nation to  the  knights  of  Calatrava,  but  was  relieved  by 
Tulius  II.,  and  rose  to  independent  importance. 

The  wealth  of  these  orders  was  immeasurable ;  they 
had  unlimited  rights  over  their  conquests ;  they  could 
bring  into  the  field  hundreds  of  belted  knights  and 
thousands  of  lances ;  their  towns,  castles,  and  convents 
covered  the  country;  the  grand-masterships  became 
posts  of  vast  influence  ;  and  soon  so  much  intrigue, 
danger,  and  bad  blood  developed  when  a  vacancy 
occurred  that,  in  1476,  the  queen  succeeded  in  secur- 
ing the  administration  of  one  of  the  grand-masterships 
(that  of  Santiago)  for  Ferdinand;  that  of  Calatrava 
followed  in  1487,  and  of  Alcantara  in  1494.  In  the 
reign  of  Charles  V.,  his  old  teacher,  Adrian  VI.,  granted 
a  bull  annexing  the  orders  in  perpetuity  to  the  Castilian 
crown;  so  that  soon  these  famous  relics  of  religious 
chivalr}'  lapsed  into  insignificalice,  more  particularly  as 
their  great  life-work,  the  subjugation  of  the  Moors,  had 
been  accomplished. 

The  encroachments  of  the  ecclesiastical  on  the  lay 
tribunals— especially  after  the  permanent  establishment 
of  the  canon  law,  due  to  the  promulgation  of  the 
"Siete  Partidas''  in  the  thirteenth  century— were  re- 
sisted. Here,  as  elsewhere  in  its  institutions,  mediaeval 
Spain  was  singularly  independent.  It  is  said  that  even 
the  Romish  ritual  was  not  admitted  into  its  churches  till 
long  after  it  had  been  adapted  in  the  rest  of  Europe. 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  even  proclaimed  their  intention 
of  inviting  the  princes  of  Christendom  to  unite  with 


Salutary  Changes, 


269 


them  in  convoking  an  oecumenical  council  for  the  re  or- 
mation  of  the  abuses  of  the  church.     Sixtus  J V.  reluc- 
tantly yielded   to    Isabella's   demand   that  the   higher 
Spanish  benefices  should  be  filled  with  native  Castil- 
ians;  and  thus  the  queen  proceeded,  as  occasion  per- 
mitted, to  place  persons  eminent  ^or  virtue  piety,  and 
learning,  in  the  conspicuous  strongholds  of  Catholicism. 
Famines,  pestilences,  languishing  agriculture,  rumeo 
commercial   and   financial   credit,    debasement   of   the 
coin,  were  a  few  of   the  memories    and    legacies  be- 
queathed the  Catholic  kings  by  their  immediate  prede- 
cessors; a  state  of  things  bettered,  as  far  as  might  be, 
on  the  accession  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.     Salutary 
changes  of  every  description  were  introduced  ;  internal 
communications   facilitated ;  foreign   trade   protected ; 
the  public  credit  re-established  by  the  punctuality  with 
which  the  government  met  its  engagements;   arbitrary 
imposts  were  repealed  ;  different  denominations  of  coin 
had  a  legal   standard  value  affixed  ;   and  royal  mints 
were  established  to  infuse  life  and  vigor  into  the  cur- 
rency     In  five  years  the  revenues  increased  five-fold ; 
agriculture    and   architecture   began  to  flourish  again, 
and   capital   to   flow  into   the   country;   "what   many 
men,"  says  old  Pulgar,  "  and  grand  lords  were  unable 
to  do  in  many  years,  a  solitary  woman,  with  her  own 
toil  and  talents,  did  in  a  little  while." 

The  sober  msdom,  noble  demeanor,  liberality,  and 
affectionate  solicitude  of  the  queen ;  the  resolution 
self-restraint,  and  scrupulous  economy  of  the  king  ;  and 
the  harmonious  and  elevated  character  of  the  relations 
existing  between  these  eminent  sovereigns,  tended  to 
establish  the  royal  authority  on  a  rock  impregnable, 


^i.U>H!  J.  iJl'M^-TI  W 


268         Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 

tury  -plain  diet,  silence  at  meals,  continual  readiness 
day  and  night  for  action:  such  were  their  rules  The 
order  of  Alcantara  (1177)  ^vas  held  in  nom ma  subordi- 
nation to  the  knights  of  Calatrava,  but  was  relieved  by 
Julius  II.,  and  rose  to  independent  importance. 

The  wealth  of  these  orders  was  immeasurable ;  they 
had  unlimited  rights  over  their  conquests ;  they  could 
bring  into  the  field   hundreds  of    belted  knights  and 
thousands  of  lances ;  their  towns,  castles,  and  convents 
covered   the  country  ;   the    grand-masterships  became 
posts   of  vast  influence  ;  and  soon   so  much    intrigue, 
danger    and   bad   blood    developed   when    a   vacancy 
occurred  that,  in  1476,  the  queen  succeeded  in    secur- 
ing the  administration  of  one  of  the  grana-masterships 
(that   of    Santiago)  for  Ferdinand;  that   of    Calatrava 
followed  in  1487,  and  of  Alcantara  in    1494.     In  the 
reicrn  of  Charles  V.,  his  old  teacher,  Adrian  VI.,  granted 
a  bull  annexing  the  orders  in  perpetuity  to  the  Castilian 
crown  •  so  that  soon  these  famous  relics  of  religious 
chivalry  lapsed  into  insignifica^ice,  more  particularly  as 
their  great  life-work,  the  subjugation  of  the  Moors,  had 

been  accomplished. 

The  encroachments  of  the  ecclesiastical  on  the  lay 
tribunals-especially  after  the  permanent  establishment 
of    the   canon   law,    due   to   the   promulgation    of  the 
-Siete  Partidas"  in  the  thirteenth  century -were  re- 
sisted     Here,  as  elsewhere  in  its  institutions,  mediaeval 
Spain  was  singularly  independent.     It  is  said  that  even 
the  Romish  ritual  was  not  admitted  into  its  churches  till 
long  after  it  had  been  adapted  in  the  rest  of  Europe. 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  even  proclaimed  their  intention 
of  inviting  the  princes  of  Christendom  to  unite  with 


Salutary   Changes. 


269 


them  in  convoking  an  oecumenical  council  for  the  refor- 
mation of  the  abuses  of  the  church.  Sixtus  IV.  reluc- 
tantly yielded  to  Isabella's  demand  that  the  higher 
Spanish  benefices  should  be  filled  with  native  Castil- 
ians ;  and  thus  the  queen  proceeded,  as  occasion  per- 
mitted, to  place  persons  eminent  for  virtue,  piety,  and 
learning,  in  the  conspicuous  strongholds  of  Catholicism. 

Famines,  pestilences,  languishing  agriculture,  ruined 
commercial   and   financial   credit,    debasement   of   the 
coin,  were  a   few  of   the  memories    and    legacies   be- 
queathed the  Catholic  kings  by  their  immediate  prede- 
cessors ;  a  state  of  things  bettered,  as  far  as  might  be, 
on  the  accession  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.     Salutary 
changes  of  every  description  were  introduced  ;  internal 
communications   facilitated;  foreign   trade   protected; 
the  public  credit  re-established  by  the  punctuality  with 
which  the  government  met  its  engagements;    arbitrary 
imposts  were  repealed  ;  different  denominations  of  coin 
had  a  legal   standard  value  affixed  ;   and  royal  mints 
were  established  to  infuse  life  and  vigor  into  the  cur- 
rency.    In  five  years  the  revenues  increased  five-fold ; 
agriculture    and   architecture   began  to  flourish   again, 
and   capital    to    flow  into    the    country;   "what   many 
men,"  says  old  Pulgar,  "  and  grand  lords  were  unable 
to  do  in  many  years,  a  solitary  woman,  with  her  own 
toil  and  talents,  did  in  a  little  while." 

The  sober  wisdom,  noble  demeanor,  liberality,  and 
affectionate  solicitude  of  the  queen;  the  resolution, 
self-restraint,  and  scrupulous  economy  of  the  king ;  and 
the  harmonious  and  elevated  character  of  the  relations 
existing  between  these  eminent  sovereigns,  tended  to 
establish  the  royal  authority  on  a  rock   impregnable, 


270  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

and  make  it  undisputed  alike  at  court  and  throughout 

the  provinces. 

The  permanent  establishment  of  the  Spanish  Inqui- 
sition took  place  in  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella;  and  the  conquest  of  Granada  (1481-92),  with  all 
its  romantic  and  pathetic  associations,  filled  more  than 
ten  years  of  its  middle  period.  Beginning  in  1481,  and 
carried  on  with  an  infinity  of  surprises,  expeditions, 
storming-parties,  sieges,  capitulations,  and  evolutions, 
conducted  under  great  difficulties,  from  lack  of  funds 
on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards,  and  with  courage  and 
obstinacy  on  the  part  of  the  Moors,  this  war  lasted  till 
January,  1492,  involved  much  slaughter  on  both  sides, 
and  was  finally  brought  to  a  triumphant  conclusion  after 
incessant  hostilities. 

A  special  chapter  has  been  reserved  for  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  Spanish  navigators  who  so  gloriously  illus- 
trated this  memorable  reign,  and  carried  the  name  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  of  Spain,  and  of  the  Catholic 
religion,  across  the  dim  and  undiscovered  seas. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SUBJUGATION     OF    THE    MOORS. -CONQUEST    OF 

GRANADA. 

THE  time  had  now  come  when  two  independent 
nationalities  —  the  Spanish  and  the  Moorish  — 
could  no  longer  exist  side  by  side  in  the  peninsula. 
For  eight  centuries  Spain  had  been  the  battle-ground 
of  alien  races.     After  its  almost  total  subjugation  by 
Taric  the   One-eyed   and    Mousa,   the   Christians   had 
gradually,  one  by  one,  century  by  century,  reconquered 
■  and  recovered  the  lost  territories.     The  west,  the  east, 
and  the  north  again  owned  the  sovereignty  of  Catholic 
kings.     But  the  south,  more  beautiful  and  fertile  than 
any  part  of  Spain,  was  filled  with  Moslem  cities,  Mos- 
lem civilization,  the  grace  and  elegance  of  Moslem  art 
and  architecture,  the  renown  of  Moslem  scholars,  the 
beauty  and   chivalry  of    Moslem   knighthood.     Worse 
than  all,  the  Crescent  blazed  triumphantly  over  against 
the  Crucifix,  and  hatreds  engendered  by  irreconcilable 
creeds  were  rife,  to  stimulate  men  to  chivalrous  encoun- 
ter, and  make  them  vanquish  or  die  in  the  glorious  con- 
flict pf  Infidel  and  Believer.     A  momentous  struggle  — 
long  foreseen,  long  inevitable  —  now  broke  out,  involv- 
ing many-sided  interests— ambition,  religion,  desire  for 

271 


272 


Subjugation  of  the  Moors. 


ascendency,  personal  revenge,  avarice,  envy,  new  fields 
for  the  Inquisition,  new  opportunities  for  glory  and  selt- 
aggrandizement.  A  struggle  so  important  in  its  influ- 
ence on  Spanish  development,  and  so  passionate  and 
long-continued  in  the  obstinacy  with  which  it  was  fought 
out,  demands  more  than  a  cursory  consideration,  even 
apart  from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  most  gorgeous  and  dra- 
matic episode  of  Spanish  history.  With  a  preliminary 
glance  at  the  theatre  of  these  wonderful  scenes,  the  de- 
scription of  the  ten  years'  war  may  be  resumed. 

Andalusia,  the  fierra  dc  Maria  Santisima,  as  it  is  poet- 
ically called,  —  the  land  specially  favored  by  the  Most 
Holy  Virgin,  —  is  the  most  delectable  of  all  the  Spanish 
provinces.     In  the  time  of  the  Moors  it  corresponded  to 
the  four  kingdoms  of  Seville,  Cordova,  Jaen,  and  Gran- 
ada, now  however  (1881),  eight  in  number,  known  as 
the  provinces  of  Seville,  Huelva,  Cadiz,  Jaen,  Cordova, 
Granada,  Almeria,  and  Malaga.     The  etymology  of  the  . 
word  —  according  to^  Dozy  a  corruption  of    Vandalusia, 
from  the  Vandals,  who  overran  the  south  of  Spain  after 
the  disintegration  of  the  Roman  empire  ;  according  to 
others  from  the  Moorish  term  Andalosh,  Land  of  the 
West— need    not  detain  us   long.     The    singular  geo- 
graphical features  of  its  thirty-three   thousand  square 
miles  give  the  clue  to  the  rugged  and  stubborn  resis- 
tance of  the  Moors  of  the  fifteenth  century  to  the  arms 
of  the  most  Catholic  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

In  the  loveliest  atmosphere  in  the  worid  rise  vast 
ranges  of  serrated,  ruddy-peaked  mountains,  within 
which  are  interleaved  delicious  valleys,  sometimes 
opening  on  an  azure  estuary  of  the  purple-watered 
Mediterranean,   sometimes   locked   in   by  inaccessible 


1 


272 


Subjugation  of  the  Moors, 


ascendency,  personal  revenge,  avarice,  envy,  new  fields 
for  the  Inquisition,  new  opportunities  for  glory  and  selt- 
ao-o-randizement.     A  struggle  so  important  ni  its  nifiu- 
ence  on  Spanish  development,  and  so  passionate  and 
long-continued  in  the  obstinacy  with  which  it  was  fought 
out  demands  more  than  a  cursory  consideration,  even 
apa'rt  from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  most  gorgeous  and  dra- 
matic episode  of  Spanish  histor)-.     With  a  preliminary 
glance  at  the  theatre  of  these  wonderful  scenes,  the  de- 
scription of  the  ten  years'  war  may  be  resumed.  ^ 

Andalusia,  the  fkrra  de  Maria  Santisima,  as  it  is  poet- 
ically called,  —  the  land  specially  favored  by  the  Most 
Holy  Virgin,  —  is  the  most  delectable  of  all  the  Spanish 
provinces'!     In  the  time  of  the  Moors  it  corresponded  to 
the  four  kingdoms  of  Seville,  Cordova,  Jaen,  and  Gran- 
ada, now  however  (1881),  eight  in  number,  known  as 
the  provinces  of  Seville,  Huelva,  Cadiz,  Jaen,  Cordova, 
Granada,  Almeria,  and  Malaga.     The  etymology  of  the   . 
word  —  according  ta  Dozy  a  corruption  of    Vandalusia, 
from  the  Vandals,  who  overran  the  south  of  Spain  after 
the  disintegration  of  the  Roman  empire  ;  according  to 
others  from  the  Moorish  term  Andalosh,  Land  of  the 
West— need    not  detain  us    long.     The    singular  geo- 
graphical features  of  its  thirty-three   thousand  square 
miles  give  the  clue  to  the  rugged  and  stubborn  resis- 
tance of  the  Moors  of  the  fifteenth  century  to  the  arms 
of  the  most  Catholic  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

In  the  loveliest  atmosphere  in  the  world  rise  vast 
ranges  of  serrated,  ruddy-peaked  mountains,  within 
which  are  interleaved  delicious  valleys,  sometimes 
opening  on  an  azure  estuary  of  the  purple-watered 
Mediteaanean,    sometimes   locked   in   by  inaccessible 


I 


Andalusian  Scenery, 


275 


precipices.     Gigantic  mountain  domes  loom  up  to  the 
height  of  nearly  twelve  thousand  feet  and  pierce  the 
air  with   a   penetrating  and  perennial  coolness.     The 
mountains  of  the  Sun  and  Air,  the  Sierra  of  Snow,  of 
Vermilion,  of  Gador,  of  Arsohe,  of  Morena,  of  Susana, 
break  and  intersect  the  face  of  the  country  into  a  thou- 
sand slopes,  glens,  dales,  eagles'  eyries,  and  undulating 
plains.     Eight  or  ten  rivers  with  their  affluents  send 
sluggish   or  silvery  torrents,   according  to  the  season, 
through  the  country,  which  now  expands    into  pictur- 
esque vegas  overflowing  with  the  wild  olive,  the  citron, 
the  caper-bush,  the  aloe,  the  cactus,  the  palm,  lemon, 
and  orange,  the  evergreen  oak,  the  silk-festooned  mul- 
berry, the  snowy  cotton  and  bending  cane,  now  shoots 
up  into  cliffs  of  dazzling  height  surmounted  by  dragon- 
like castles.     These    mountains    are  richly  variegated 
with   threads  of   silver,  gold,  lead,  copper,  iron,  coal, 
and  precious  marbles ;  the  land  is  golden  with  autumnal 
wheat ;  the  landscape  is  populous  with  cities  of  great 
interest   to    artist,    antiquary,    and    ecclesiologist ;    the 
plantations  are  famous  for  their  bulls,  horses,  sheep, 
and  swine  ;  and  the  ready  wit,  versatility,  genius,  and 
good  humor  of  the  inhabitants  have  passed  into  a  prov- 
erb.    The  sparkling  beauty  of  the  Andalusian  women, 
with  their  dark  complexions,  small  figures,  and  pleasant 
Castilian  dialect ;  the  handsome,  lazy,   boastful  men ; 
the  ever-sounding    song,   the    ever-living     dance;    the 
superstition  and  sensuality  of  all  classes ;  the  illiteracy, 
munificence,  and  carelessness  so   characteristic  of  the 
Andalusians;  all    these  details   and    dispositions  were 
favored  and   developed    by  a  voluptuous   climate  and 


276 


Subjugation  of  the  Moor 


a. 


are  still,  to-day,  equally  with  five  centuries  ago,  peculiar 
to  the  population. 

In  this  paradise  of  the  south  of  Spain  broke  out  one 
of  the  most  sanguinary  conflicts  known  to  history. 
From  the  nature  of  the  country  as  well  as  from  the 
character  of  the  combatants,  the  contest  was  bound  to 
be  protracted.  In  its  length,  picturesqueness,  and  epi- 
sodic character  it  has  frequently  been  compared  to  the 
Trojan  war  ;  and  it  is  even  more  than  singular  that  this 
swan-song  of  the  crusades  did  not  breathe  itself  elo- 
quently forth  in  the  melting  verse  of  some  Spanish 
Tasso.     As  it  is,  it  is  evpn  richer  in  poetry  and  romance 


FERDINAND   AND    ISABELLA. 

than  the  wars  of  the  Holy  Land  and  though  commem- 
orated in  no  grand  epical  "Lay  of  the  Saracens,"  is  em- 
balmed in  innumerable  ballads  fraught  with  the  tender- 
est  pathos  and  music. 

As    early  as   1466,  Muley  Abul  Ilacen,   son  of  the 


Ahul  Ilacen  and   Granada. 


277 


Aben    Ismail  who   ruled   in    Granada  in    the   reign  of 
Juan  II.  and  Enrique  IV.,  had  succeeded  his  father  and 
was  prompted  by  an  impetuous  disposition   to  violate 
the  truce  which  his  father  had  established  between  the 
Moors  and  the  Spaniards.     On  Ferdinand's  demanding, 
in   1476,  payment  of  the  annual    tribute  levied  by  his 
predecessors,  Abul  Haoen  insolently  retorted  that  "  the 
mints  of  Granada  coined    no  longer  gold,  but  steel." 
Crouching  like  a  lion  in  his  noble  city  of  Granada  — 
the  city   of   seventy  thousand   houses,    of  walls  three 
leagues  in  circuit,  furnished  with  twelve  gates  and  1030 
towers,  of  the  commanding    palace    of  the  Alhambra, 
capable  of  containing  a  garrison  of  forty  thousand  men, 
of  the  incomparable  Vega  thirty-seven  leagues   in  cir- 
cumference, of  orchards  and  gardens,  and  silver  wind- 
ings of   the   Xenil   infinite  —  Abul   Hacen  might  well 
think  himself  invincible.     Few  cities,  indeed,  if  we  may 
put  faith  in  the  eulogies  of   Spanish  and  Arabian  writ- 
ers, ever  surpassed  Granada  in  luxury,  refinement,  and 
prodigality.     We    read   of   girdles    and    bracelets    and 
anklets  of  gold  and  silver  for  the  women,  wrought  with 
exquisite  art  and  delicacy,  studded  with  jacinths,  emer- 
alds, and  chrysolites ;  of  braided  and  beautifully  deco- 
rated hair  confined    in  links  of    sparkling  jewels;   of 
garments  of  wool,  silk  or  cotton  of  the  finest  texture 
for  the  men,  beautifully  variegated.     Linen  of  spotless 
whiteness  for  the  summer,  armor  chased  and  inlaid  with 
gold,  enamelled  scimitars,  blades,  and  daggers  of  Da- 
mascus and  Fez,  decorated  with  Koranic  texts,  sump- 
tuously caparisoned  horses,  lances  of  matchless  temper, 
legions  of  Andalusian  barbs,  are  said  to  have  been  the 
commonplaces  of  these  most  serene  principalities.     A 


278 


Subjugation  of  the  Moors. 


brilliant  chivalry  filled  the  city ;  the  most  generous 
rivalry  existed  between  the  Moslem  and  Christian 
cavaliers.  Owing  to  the  singular  reservations  of  the 
truce  made  between  the  rival  races,  hostilities  had 
been  but  partially  suspended.  The  Moorish  frontier 
towards  Jaen  was  not  included  in  it,  and  was  left  open 
as.the  play-ground  of  the  contending  bands.  Provision 
was  even  found  in  the  truce  for  sudden  forays,  unex- 
pected attacks  on  castles  and  towns  undertaken  without 
trumpet  or  banner,  or  investments  of  towns  within  a 
period  of  three  days.  The  truce  required  twelve  thou- 
sand doblas  of  gold  to  be  annually  paid  the  Christians, 
or  in  default  thereof  the  liberation  of  six  hundred 
Christian  captives.  If  captives  were  not  to  be  got,  the 
same  number  of  Moors  were  to  be  delivered  up  at  the 

city  of  Cordova. 

When  Don  Juan  de  Vera  was  sent  in  1476  to  demand 
the  payment  of  arrearages  and   the  fulfilment  of    the 
treaty  stipulations,  the   haughty  answer  already  cited 
was  returned.     A  report  was  made  to  the  Castilian  sov- 
ereigns of  the  condition  of  things  in  Granada,  and  it 
waslEound  that  Abul  Hacen's  kingdom  now  contained 
fourteen  cities,  ninety-seven -fortified  places,  and  many 
formidable  castles.    Deferring  hostilities  for  the  present, 
Ferdinand  with  characteristic  caution  determined  to  re- 
duce the  kingdom  by  inches,  plucking  out  hair  by  hair, 
subjugating  fortress  by  fortress,  garnering  grain  by  grain 
into  his  granar>',  until,  ^s  an  historian  reports,  "  he  had 
picked  out  the  seeds  of  this  pomegranate  one  by  one." 
Fortunately  for  the  Christians  their  cause  was  aided 
by  the  implacable  rivalries  existing  among  the  Moors 
themselves,  and  rending  their  ranks  into  those  who  fa- 


MOORISH  ARCHES  OF  THE  ALCAZAR,  SEVILLE. 


278 


Subjugation  of  the  Moors, 


brilliant  chivalry  filled  the  city ;  the  most  generous 
rivalry  existed  between  the  Moslem  and  Christian 
cavaliers.  Owing  to  the  singular  reservations  of  the 
truce  made  between  the  rival  races,  hostilities  had 
been  but  partially  suspended.  The  Moorish  frontier 
towards  Jaen  was  not  included  in  it,  and  was  left  open 
as  the  play-ground  of  the  contending  bands.  Provision 
was  even  found  in  the  truce  for  sudden  forays,  unex- 
pected attacks  on  castles  and  towns  undertaken  without 
trumpet  or  banner,  or  investments  of  towns  within  a 
period  of  three  days.  The  truce  required  twelve  thou- 
sand doblas  of  gold  to  be  annually  paid  the  Christians, 
or  in  default  thereof  the  liberation  of  six  hundred 
Christian  captives.  If  captives  were  not  to  be  got,  the 
same  number  of  Moors  were  to  be  delivered  up  at  the 

city  of  Cordova. 

When  Don  Juan  de  Vera  was  sent  in  1476  to  demand 
the  payment  of  arrearages  and   the  fulfilment  of    the 
treaty  'stipulations,  the   haughty  answer  already  cited 
was  returned.     A  report  was  made  to  the  Castilian  sov- 
ereigns of  the  condition  of  things  in  Granada,  and  it 
waslfound  that  Abul  Hacen's   kingdom  now  contained 
fourteen  cities,  ninety-seven -fortified  places,  and  many 
formidable  castles.    Deferring  hostilities  for  the  present, 
Ferdinand  with  characteristic  caution  determined  to  re- 
duce the  kingdom  by  inches,  plucking  out  hair  by  hair, 
subjugating  fortress  by  fortress,  garnering  grain  by  grain 
into  his  granary,  until,  us  an  historian  reports,  "  he  had 
picked  out  the  seeds  of  this  pomegranate  one  by  one." 
Fortunately  for  the  Christians  their  cause  was  aided 
by  the  implacable  rivalries  existing  among  the  Moors 
themselves,  and  rending  their  ranks  into  those  who  fa- 


MOORISH  ARCHES  OF  THE  ALCAZAR,  SEVILLE. 


A  Ro7nantic  Episode, 


281 


vored  the  cause  of  the  Sultana  Ay5ca  the  Chaste  —  the 
first  wife  of  Abul  Hacen,  daughter  of  Mohammed  VII. 
(surnamed  the  Left-handed),  mother  of  Boabdil  —  and 
those  who  favored  the  cause  of  Zoraya,  Maid  of  the 
Morning  Star,  originally  a  Christian  slave,  but  deli- 
cately nurtured  and  brought  up  in  the  Mahometan 
faith,  the  favorite  sultana  of  Abul  Hacen.  The  pres- 
ence of  these  women  throws  a  strange  and  romantic 
glamour  over  this  memorable  war  and  lightens  its 
ferocity  with  many  a  detail  of  graceful  and  tender  pa- 
thos. Ambitious,  beautiful,  passionate,  intriguing,  Zo- 
raya swayed  the  amorous  Abul  Hacen  despotically,  and 
was  anxious  that  one  or  the  other  of  her  two  sons 
should  eventually  reign  over  the  kingdom.  Surrounded 
by  an  influential  faction  headed  by  the  vizier  Abul  Ca- 
cem  Vanegas,  Zoraya  had  good  hope  that  her  expecta- 
tions should  be  gratified.  Ayxa,  on  the  contrary,  was 
upheld  by  the  powerful  family  of  the  Abencerrages  and 
by  Aben  Comixer,  Alcayde  of  the  Alhambra.  The 
beauteous  palace  resounded  with  their  controversies 
and  recriminations,  and  the  noise  of  the  scandal  was 
spread  abroad  through  the  kingdom,  constituting  a 
source  of  fruitful  apprehension  to  the  graver  and  more 

reflecting  Moslems. 

Close  upon  the  heels  of  these  dissensions  followed 
the  capture  of  Zahara  in  1481,  a  Christian  fortress 
which  proved  an  irresistible  lure  to  the  enterprising 
mind  of  Abul  Hacen,  and  led  the  way  to  all  the  subse- 
quent disasters  of  the  Moors.  The  garrison  was  put  to 
the  sword  and  Hacen  returned  in  triumph  to  Granada 
where,  instead  of  being  received  with  acclaim  for  his 
valiant  deed,  he  was  welcomed  by  lamentations,  dismal 


282 


Subjugation  of  the  Moors, 


prophecies,  and  the  outcries  of  a  religious  enthusiast, 
who  predicted  the  speedy  downfall  of  Granada  for  this 
unprovoked  massacre. 

The    capture  of   Zahara  roused   infinite    indignation 
among  the  Christian  cavaliers,   already  renowned   for 
the  irascibility  of  their  tempers,  the  boundless  zeal  with 
which  they  fought  for  the  faith,  and  the  turbulence  and 
independence  of  their  spirit.     Preparations  were  there- 
fore at  once  made  to  carry  the  war  with  fire  and  sword 
into  the  heart  of   the  territories  of   the  Moors.     The 
estates  of  the  marquis  of  Cadiz  lay  adjacent  to  these 
territories  —  a  fact  which  was  speedily  signalized  by  a 
brilliant  achievement,  serving  as  a  prologue  to  the  war. 
Illustrious  in  lineage,  distinguished  as  a  champion  of  the 
faith,  well  known  for  vigor,  valor,  munificence  to  friend, 
magnanimity   to   foe,  —  a   slight,  ruddy-faced,   blonde- 
haired,   intrepid    figure,  —  Roderigo    Ponce    de    Leon, 
marquis  of  Cadiz,  became  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes  in 
this  war  and  did  deeds  and  achieved  glory  comparable 
to  the  knightly  and  half-mythical  actions  of  the  Tan- 
creds,  the  Baldwins,  Bernardo  del  Carpio,  and  the  Cid. 
Learning  that  Alhama,  a  wealthy  and  populous  place  a 
few  leagues  from  Granada,  was  but  slightly  garrisoned, 
he  determined  to  surprise  it  one  moonless  night,  and 
make  its  capture  counterbalance  the  capture  of  Zahara. 
Setting  out  noiselessly  to  the  number  of  four  thousand 
foot  and  three  thousand  cavalry,  and  winding  as  stealth- 
ily as  tigers  over  the  rugged  and  dangerous  mountain- 
roads,  the  marquis  and  his  men  succeeded  in  surprising 
Alhama  two  hours  before  daybreak. 

Boundless  was  the  satisfaction  of  the  Spaniards  when 
they  heard  of  this  victory,  and  boundless  the  grief  and 


"  Woe  is  me,  Alhama,'^ 


283 


6 


i 


anger  of  the  people  of  Granada.  The  agitation  caused 
by  this  memorable  event  has  been  mirrored  for  us  in  a 
plaintive  Spanish  romance  delicately  rendered  by  Lord 
Byron,  who  in  his  translation  has  combined  two  ballads, 
one  with  the  refrain,  "  Ay  de  mi,  Alhama  1 " 

The  Moorish  King  rides  up  and  down 
Through  Granada's  royal  town ; 
From  Elvira's  gates  to  those 
Of  Bivarambla  on  he  goes. 

Woe  is  me,  Alhama! 

Letters  to  the  monarch  tell 
How  Alhama's  city  fell : 
In  the  fire  the  scroll  he  threw, 
And  the  messenger  he  slew. 

Woe  is  me,  Alhama! 

He  quits  his  mule  and  mounts  his  horse, 
And  through  the  street  directs  his  course : 
Through  the  street  of  Zacatin, 
To  the  Alhambra  spurring  in. 

Woe  is  me,  Alhama! 

When  the  Alhambra  walls  he  gained, 

On  the  moment  he  ordained 

That  the  trumpet  straight  should  sound 

With  the  silver  clarion  round. 

Woe  is  me,  Alhama  ! 

And  when  the  hollow  drums  of  war 
Beat  the  loud  alarm  afar, 
That  the  Moors  of  town  and  plain 
Might  answer  to  the  martial  strain. 

Woe  is  me,  Alhama! 

Then  the  Moors  by  this  aware. 
That  bloody  Mars  recalled  them  there 
One  by  one,  and  two  by  two, 
To  a  mighty  squadron  grew. 

Woe  is  me,  Alhama ! 


284  Subjugation  of  the  Moors. 

Out  then  spake  an  aged  Moor 
In  these  words  the  king  before  : 
"  Wherefore  call  on  us,  O  King  ? 
What  may  mean  this  gathering?" 

Woe  is  me,  Alhamal 

"  Friends,  ye  have  alas  to  know 
Of  a  most  disastrous  blow ; 
That  the  Christians,  stern  and  bold. 
Have  obtained  Alhama's  hold." 

Woe  is  me,  Alhama  ! 

And  from  the  windows  o'er  the  walls 
The  sable  web  of  mourning  falls; 
The  king  weeps  as  a  woman  o'er 
His  loss,  for  it  is  much  and  sore. 

Woe  is  me,  Alhama! 

It  is  said  that  many  of  the  people  of  Granada  made 
their  way  to  the  Alhambra  weeping,  and  "  Accursed," 
cried  they  to  Abul  Hacen,  ''  be  the  day  that  thou  hast 
Ut  the  fiame  of  war  in  our  land.  May  the  holy  prophet 
bear  witness  before  Allah  that  we  and  our  children  are 
innocent  of  this  act !  Upon  thy  head,  and  upon  the 
heads  of  thy  posterity,  until  the  end  of  the  world,  rest 
the  sin  of  the  desolation  of  Zahara  ! " 

Abul  Hacen,  however,  was  no  sentimentalist.  With 
astonishing  speed  he  gathered  together  an  army  of  three 
thousand  horse  and  fifty  thousand  foot,  and  swept  forih 
from  the  gates  of  Granada  to  exterminate  the  handful 
of  Christians  at  Alhama.  Don  Alonzo  de  Aguilar, 
elder  brother  of  the  famous  Gonsalvo  de  Cordova,  made 
vain  efforts  to  succor  his  besieged  countrymen.  He 
was  compelled  to  withdraw  and  retire  into  the  moun- 
tains. The  Moslems,  when  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
mangled  bodies  of  their  kinsmen  strewn  broadcast  over 


li. 


I 


Unexpected  Help. 


285 


the  earth,  or  the  revolting  repast  of  troops  of  hunger- 
pinched  dogs,  were  lashed  into  fury.  They  sprang  like 
ravenous  animals  on  the  walls,  scaled  the  battlements, 
and  were  dashed  headlong  down  the  precipices  by  the 
intrepid  defenders.  The  lack  of  artillery  to  batter 
down  the  fortifications  proved  death  to  the  Moslems 
and  salvation  to  the  Christians.  Like  myriads  of 
wolves,  the  Infidels  howled  tempestuously  round  the 
ramparts,  glared  with  bloodshot  eyes  at  the  impregnable 
defences  which  they  themselves  had  reared,  made  de- 
spairing onslaughts  in  the  face  of  blinding  fire  from 
the  besiegers,  and,  foiled,  incensed,  breathless,  battle- 
scarred,  Hacen  and  his  army  lay  writhing  among  the 
hills  below  in  futile  anguish  and  disappointment. 

Ill,  however,  might  it  have  fared  with  the  Christians, 
had  not  speedy  succor  come  from  an  unexpected  quar- 
ter. Alhama  was  destitute  of  cisterns  and  fountains  so 
that  the  Christians  had  to  descend  for  water  to  the 
river  below  under  the  withering  fire  of  the  Moors.  The 
river  was  diverted  by  the  almost  superhuman  efforts  of 
the  Moorish  engineers,  and  the  garrison,  the  inhabitants, 
and  the  wounded  soon  suffered  extremities  of  thirst. 
Many,  it  is  said,  died  raving  mad,  fancying  themselves 
swimming  in  boundless  seas,  yet  unable  to  assuage  their 
thirst. 

In  the  midst  of  this  perilous  condition  of  things,  the 
duke  of  Medina-Sidonia,  formerly  an  implacable  foe  of 
the  marquis  of  Cadiz,  but  now  softened  by  the  suffer- 
ings of  his  gallant  enemy  and  by  the  entreaties  of  the 
marchioness  of  Cadiz,  arrived  with  five  thousand  horse 
and  fifty  thousand  foot,  accompanied  by  a  splendid 
retinue  of  Andalusian  chivalry.     Though  King  Ferdi- 


286 


Subjugation  of  the  Moors. 


i 


vTV 


nand,  hearing  of  the  alarming  necessity  of  Alhama,  was 
himself  hurrying  to  the  scene  of  conflict,  the  duke 
of  Medina-Sidonia  forestalled  him  and  had  the  glorious 
privilege  of  saving  his  hereditary  foe.  One  powerful 
effort  more  was  made  by  Abul  Hacen,  which  was  foiled, 
and  the  sovereign  of  Granada,  fearing  to  be  hemmed  in 
between  two  armies,  retired  to  Granada,  tearing  his 
beard  with  humiliation. 

Few  scenes  recorded  by  the  historian  are  more  exqui- 
site than  the  scene  which  ensued  upon  the  arrival  of  the 
succoring  army.  Hostility,  vengeance,  hereditary  feud, 
were  forgotten  in  the  delicate  and  princely  magnanimity 
of  the  duke  of  Medina-Sidonia.  The  chiefs  and  their 
rival  armies  threw  down  their  weapons  and  rushed  with 
gratitude  and  tears  into  one  another's  arms ;  eternal 
friendship  was  sworn  by  the  recent  enemies  ;  the  mar- 
quis and  the  duke  marched  off  together  like  brothers 
and  were  sumptuously  entertained  in  Marchena  by  the 
marquis  of  Cadiz ;  and  ceasing  from  this  time,  the 
ancient  hostility  was  obliterated,  and  a  new  and  sacred 
friendship  sprang  up,  sealed  and  cemented  by  the  bap- 
tism of  blood  and  tears. 

Such  is  a  typical  episode  of  this  romantic  war. 
Siege  succeeded  siege,  foray  followed  on  foray,  army 
annihilated  army,  camp  vanished  before  camp  with 
swift  and  dizzying  multiplicity.  The  historian  is  caught 
up  as  in  a  hurrying  whirlwind,  and  borne  on  from  battle 
to  battle  and  sierra  to  sierra.  It  was  a  holy  war,  a 
crusade,  a  passionate  clash  between  Cross  and  Koran, 
a  grand  spectacular  display  of  tilting  knights  and  tour- 
neying infidels.  It  would,  therefore,  be  useless  to  pur- 
sue a  microscopic  chronicle  of  its  ever-shifting  vicissi- 


Civil    War  in  Granada, 


287 


• 


tudes.  Let  us  chisel  the  potent  outlines  of  the  subju- 
gation of  the  Moors  and  the  conquest  of  Gfanada  on 
bur  memories,  and  leave  the  myriad  details  to  works  of 
greater  compass  and  richer  elaboration. 

Civil  war  had  meanwhile  been  raging  in  Granada. 
With  a  population  of  unprecedented  instability,  Granada 
beheld  during  this  war  a  series  of  revolutions  and 
counter-revolutions,  plots  and  counterplots  unparalleled 
in  her  history.  Boabdil,  threatened  by  his  father  Abul 
Hacen,  had  fled  to  Guadix,  not  far  from  the  capital  city, 
where  a  host  of  adherents  gathered  around  him.  Abul 
Hacen,  received  with  groans  and  execrations  by  his 
people  after  his  return  from  the  campaign  of  Alhama, 
had  retired  for  a  day  to  a  delicious  country-seat,  situated 
on  the  mountain  of  the  Sun  near  Granada,  where, 
wrapped  in  luxury  and  lulled  by  the  blandishments  of 
Zoraya  and  her  women,  he  was  endeavoring  to  drown 
the  remembrance  of  his  defeat  in  Oriental  reveries. 
Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  this  unwarlike  dalliance,  news 
was  brought  him  that  Granada  was  in  arms,  that  Boab- 
dil had  broken  into  the  city,  and  that  a  tempest  of  rev- 
olution had  swooped  upon  the  town.  Flying  thither, 
Abel  Hacen  resisted  Boabdil,  but  was  defeated  and 
driven  out  of  the  Alhambra,  and  Boabdil,  ''El  Rey 
Chiquito,''  the  Little  King  as  he  was  called  by  the  Span- 
iards, reigned  over  the  city,  —  the  Paris  of  the  Spanish 
Middle  ages  ;  paradise  one  moment,  pandemonium  the 
next.  One  week  the  Vermilion  Towers  of  the  Alhambra 
rose  enveloped  in  light,  in  perfume,  in  aromatic  gardens, 
in  fountained  and  filagreed  courts,  in  sparkling  arabes- 
ques, in  precious  tranquillity,  wherein  the  golden  voice 
of  Arabian  verse  breathed  forth  its  plaintive  and  mock- 


288 


Subjugation  of  the  Moors. 


<i 


ing  whispers,  the  next,  blood-red  illumination  burned 
over  its  ensanguined  turrets,  and  the  din  of  arms,  the 
claniror  of  sackbuts  and  cvmbals,  the  flash  of  furious 
scimitars,  and  the  blaze  of  the  assassin  and  incendiary, 
sparkled  and  resounded  through  its  tempest-tossed  spaces. 

Swift  upon  the  capture  and  defence  of  Alhama  fol- 
lowed the  disaster  of  Loxa  to  the  Christians,  a  town  in 
the  possession  of  the  Moors  not  far  from  Alhama,  con- 
sidered all-important  to  its  security. 

Abul  Hacen,  exasperated  at  the  ravaging  of  the  vega 
of  Granada,  resolved  to  retaliate,  and  sallied  forth  from 
Malaga  with  horse  and  foot  to  scour  and  devastate  the 
dominions  of  the  duke  of  Medina-Sidonia.  His  foray 
was  brought  to  a  successful  close,  though  the  Christians, 
under  the  valiant  Pedro  de  Vargas,  hung  on  his  rear 
and  did  good  service.  A  curious  trait  illustrative  of 
the  mode  in  which  these  wars  were  carried  on  may  be 
quoted  here,  though  perhaps  one  should  not  credit  too 
absolutely  the  accuracy  of  the  account.  Two  Christian 
captives,  it  is  said,  were  summoned  by  Abul  Hacen,  and 
were  asked  what  were  the  revenues  of  Pedro  de  Var- 
gas, alcayde  of  Gibraltar.  They  said  that  he  was  enti- 
tled to  one  out  of  every  drove  of  cattle  that  passed  his 
boundaries.  *' Allah  forbid  that  so  brave  a  cavalier 
should  be  defrauded  of  his  dues,"  cried  the  warrior. 
Selectins^  twelve  of  the  finest  cattle  he  sent  them  to 
Pedro  de  Vargas,  asking  pardon  for  not  having  sent 
them  sooner.  De  Vai^as,  in  return,  is  said  to  have  sent 
a  scarlet  mantle  and  a  costly  silken  vest,  apologizing  at 
the  same  time  for  not  having  been  able  to  give  his 
Moorish  majesty  a  w  armer  reception. 

A  foray  of  the  Spanish  cavaliers  into  the  mountains 


The  Hill  of  Massacre. 


289 


of  Malaga  about  the  same  time  ended  in  slaughter  and 
defeat.  Lost  in  the  mountains,  through  the  ignorance 
of  their  guides,  wandering  helplessly  among  the  gorges 
and  precipices  of  the  sierras,  at  first  imagining  them- 
selves perfectly  safe  and  their  expedition  a  profound 
secret,  they  suddenly  awoke  to  find  every  crag  alive 
with  the  signal  fires  of  the  Moors,  every  cliff  bristling 
with  casque  and  lance,  every  declivity  a  rampart  down 
which  gigantic  rocks  were  rolled  on  their  devoted 
heads,  and  the  mountains  themselves  tumbling  about 
them.  The  defeat  is  still  recorded  in  the  Spanish  cal- 
endars as  the  Defeat  of  the  mountains  of  Malaga,  and 
the  spot  is  commemorated  as  the  Hill  of  Massacre, —  in 
after  years  a  museum  of  whitening  skeletons,  weapons, 
and  armor  cast  away  in  the  fight.  Prisoners  long  con- 
tinued to  be  brought  in  from  the  pathless  mountains, 
and  so  great  was  the  loss  that  "all  Andalusia,"  says  a 
w^riter  of  the  period,  "  was  overwhelmed  by  a  great  afflic- 
tion ;  there  was  no  dr}dng  of  the  eyes  which  wept  in  her." 

The  consternation  of  the  Christians  formed  a  vivid 
contrast  with  the  exultation  of  the  Moors.  The  former 
attributed  the  rout  to  vain-glory  and  supercilious  confi- 
dence, making  it  a  source  of  edifying  homilies  and 
pious  self-denunciation,  while  the  latter  saw  in  it  the 
direct  interposition  of  Allah  and  a  pleasant  augury  of 
future  conquest  and  success. 

No  sooner,  however,  had  the  skies  ceased  ringing 
with  the  shouts  of  the  Moor  than,  by  one  of  those  com- 
pensations continually  apparent  in  this  war,  their  tri- 
umph was  turned  into  mourning. 

Boabdil  el  Chiquito  made  an  incursion  over  the  bor- 
der, and,  with  the  help  of  Ali  Atar,  determined  to  elude 


288 


Suhjui/atum  of  the  Moors, 


ing  whispers,  the  next,  blood-red  illumination  burned 
over  its  ensanguined  turrets,  and  the  din  of  arms,  the 
clangor  of  sackbuts  and  cymbals,  the  flash  of  furious 
scimitars,  and  the  blaze  of  the  assassin  and  incendiary, 
sparkled  and  resounded  through  its  tempest-tossed  spaces. 

Swift  upon  the  capture  and  defence  of  Alhama  fol- 
lowed the  disaster  of  Loxa  to  the  Christians,  a  town  in 
the  possession  of  the  Moors  not  far  from  Alhama,  con- 
sidered all-important  to  its  security. 

Abul  Hacen,  exasperated  at  the  ravaging  of  the  vega 
of  Granada,  resolved  to  retaliate,  and  sallied  forth  from 
Malaga  with  horse  and  foot  to  scour  and  devastate  the 
dominions  of  the  duke  of  Medina-Sidonia.  His  foray 
was  brought  to  a  successful  close,  though  the  Christians, 
under  the  valiant  Pedro  de  Vargas,  hung  on  his  rear 
and  did  good  service.  A  curious  trait  illustrative  of 
the  mode  in  which  these  wars  were  carried  on  may  be 
quoted  here,  though  perhaps  one  should  not  credit  too 
absolutely  the  accuracy  of  the  account.  Two  Christian 
captives,  it  is  said,  were  summoned  by  Abul  Hacen,  and 
were  asked  what  were  the  revenues  of  Pedro  de  Var- 
gas, alcayde  of  Gibraltar.  They  said  that  he  was  enti- 
tled to  one  out  of  every  drove  of  cattle  that  passed  his 
boundaries.  "  Allah  forbid  that  so  brave  a  cavalier 
should  be  defrauded  of  his  dues,"  cried  the  warrior. 
Selecting  twelve  of  the  finest  cattle  he  sent  them  to 
Pedro  de  Vargas,  asking  pardon  for  not  having  sent 
them  sooner.  De  Vargas,  in  return,  is  said  to  have  sent 
a  scarlet  mantle  and  a  costly  silken  vest,  apologizing  at 
the  same  time  for  not  having  been  able  to  give  his 
Moorish  majesty  a  warmer  reception. 

A  foray  of  the  Spanish  cavaliers  into  the  mountains 


The  Hill  of  Maasacre. 


289 


of  Malaga  about  the  same  time  ended  in  slaughter  and 
defeat.  Lost  in  the  mountains,  through  the  ignorance 
of  their  guides,  wandering  helplessly  among  the  gorges 
and  precipices  of  the  sierras,  at  first  imagining  them- 
selves perfectly  safe  and  their  expedition  a  profound 
secret,  they  suddenly  awoke  to  find  every  crag  alive 
with  the  signal  fires  of  the  Moors,  every  cliff  bristling 
with  casque  and  lance,  every  declivity  a  rampart  down 
which  gigantic  rocks  were  rolled  on  their  devoted 
heads,  and  the  mountains  themselves  tumbling  about 
them.  The  defeat  is  still  recorded  in  the  Spanish  cal- 
endars as  the  Defeat  of  the  mountains  of  Malaga,  and 
the  spot  is  commemorated  as  the  Hill  of  Massacre, —  in 
after  years  a  museum  of  whitening  skeletons,  weapons, 
and  armor  cast  away  in  the  fight.  Prisoners  long  con- 
tinued to  be  brought  in  from  the  pathless  mountains, 
and  so  great  was  the  loss  that  "  all  Andalusia,"  says  a 
writer  of  the  period,  "  was  overwhelmed  by  a  great  afflic- 
tion ;  there  was  no  drying  of  the  eyes  which  wept  in  her." 

The  consternation  of  the  Christians  formed  a  vivid 
contrast  with  the  exultation  of  the  Moors.  The  former 
attributed  the  rout  to  vain-glory  and  supercilious  confi- 
dence, making  it  a  source  of  edifying  homilies  and 
pious  self-denunciation,  while  the  latter  saw  in  it  the 
direct  interposition  of  Allah  and  a  pleasant  augury  of 
future  conquest  and  success. 

No  sooner,  however,  had  the  skies  ceased  ringing 
with  the  shouts  of  the  Moor  than,  by  one  of  those  com- 
pensations continually  apparent  in  this  war,  their  tri- 
umph was  turned  into  mourning. 

Boabdil  el  Chiquito  made  an  incursion  over  the  bor- 
der, and,  with  the  help  of  Ali  Atar,  determined  to  elude 


290 


Subjugation  of  the  Moors. 


observation  and  come  by  surprise  upon  the  city  of  Lu- 
cena.  Mounted,  like  a  veritable  king  of  romance,  upon 
a  black  and  white  horse  superbly  caparisoned,  with 
richly  ornamented  corslet  of  steel,  lined  with  gaudy 
velvet,  and  pranked  with  golden  nails,  with  head  sur- 
mounted by  an  exquisitely  chiselled  and  embossed 
casque,  Damascus  scimitar  and  dagger  hung  to  belt 
and  saddle-bow,  and  a  mighty  lance  in  hand,  the  Moor- 
ish king  pranced  forth  beneath  the  gate  of  Elvira ; 
but  in  doing  so,  tradition  says,  he  broke  his  lance-head 
against  the  arch  — an  omen  of  disastrous  import.  While 
a  bow-shot  from  the  city,  a  fox  ran  through  the  whole 
army,  and  though  pursued  by  a  thousand  missiles,  es- 
caped unharmed  ;  another  portent  to  the  Moorish  imag- 
ination. While  Boabdil  was  leisurely  scathing  the 
country  around  Lucena,  and  destroying  all  he  could,  the 
count  de  Cabra,  in  the  castle  of  Vaena,  several  leagues 
from  Lucena,  perceiving  the  approach  of  the  king,  man- 
aged to  gather  in  all  haste  a  small  force  of  knights  and 
gentlemen,  and  descending  upon  the  five  battalions  of 
Moorish  cavalry  with  impetuosity  put  the  plunder-laden 
host  to  utter  rout,  drove  Boabdil  himself  into  the  willows 
and  tamarisks  of  the  Mingozales  river,  and  succeeded  in 
capturi.ig  him,  though  he  gave  himself  out  as  the  son  of 
Aben  Alnayer,  a  cavalier  of  the  royal  household.  His 
rank  remained  undiscovered  till  three  days  after  the  bat- 
tle, when  some  prisoners  from  Granada  happening  to  be 
brought  into  the  citadel  of  Lucena  where  Boabdil  was 
confined,  and  beholding  the  wretched  monarch  stripped 
of  his  kingly  robes,  prostrated  themselves  before  him 
with  loud  lamentations,  and  thus  revealed  his  piteous 
secret. 


INTERIOR  OF  SEVILLE  CATHEDRAL. 


290 


Subjugation  of  the  Moors. 


i 


observation  and  come  by  surprise  upon  the  city  of  Lu- 
cena.  Mounted,  like  a  veritable  king  of  romance,  upon 
a  black  and  white  horse  superbly  caparisoned,  with 
richly  ornamented  corslet  of  steel,  lined  with  gaudy 
velvet,  and  pranked  with  golden  nails,  with  head  sur- 
mounted by  an  exquisitely  chiselled  and  embossed 
casque,  Damascus  scimitar  and  dagger  hung  to  belt 
and  saddle-bow,  and  a  mighty  lance  in  hand,  the  Moor- 
ish king  pranced  forth  beneath  the  gate  of  Elvira; 
but  in  doing  so,  tradition  says,  he  broke  his  lance-head 
against  the  arch — an  omen  of  disastrous  import.  While 
a  bow-shot  from  the  city,  a  fox  ran  through  the  whole 
army,  and  though  pursued  by  a  thousand  missiles,  es- 
caped unharmed  ;  another  portent  to  the  Moorish  imag- 
ination. While  Boabdil  was  leisurely  scathing  the 
country  around  Lucena,  and  destroying  all  he  could,  the 
count  de  Cabra,  in  the  castle  of  Vaena,  several  leagues 
from  Lucena,  perceiving  the  approach  of  the  king,  man- 
aged to  gather  in  all  haste  a  small  force  of  knights  and 
gentlemen,  and  descending  upon  the  five  battalions  of 
Moorish  cavalry  with  impetuosity  put  the  plunder-laden 
host  to  utter  rout,  drove  Boabdil  himself  into  the  willows 
and  tamarisks  of  the  Mingozales  river,  and  succeeded  in 
capturi.ig  him,  though  he  gave  himself  out  as  the  son  of 
Aben  Alnayer,  a  cavalier  of  the  royal  household.  His 
rank  remained  undiscovered  till  three  davs  after  the  bat- 
tie,  when  some  prisoners  from  Granada  happening  to  be 
brought  into  the  citadel  of  Lucena  where  Boabdil  was 
confined,  and  beholding  the  wretched  monarch  stripped 
of  his  kingly  robes,  prostrated  themselves  before  him 
with  loud  lamentations,  and  thus  revealed  his  piteous 
secret. 


INTERIOR  OF  SEVILLE  CATHEDRAL. 


The  Alhamhra  Desolate. 


293 


Pathetic  indeed  were  the  tears  of  the  Moors  over 
their  lost  king  and  their  slain  general.  "  Beautiful 
Granada ! "  exclaimed  the  minstrels  of  the  palace,  ac- 
cording to  a  chronicler,  "  how  is  thy  glory  faded.  ^  The 
flower  of  thy  chivalry  lies  low  in  the  land  of  the  stran- 
ger ;  no  longer  does  the  Vivarrambla  echo  to  the  tramp 
of  steed  and  sound  of  trumpet ;  no  longer  is  it  crowded 
with  thy  youthful  nobles  gloriously  arrayed  for  the  tilt 
and  tourney.  Beautiful  Granada  !  the  soft  note  of  the 
lute  no  longer  floats  through  thy  moonlit  streets ;  the 
serenade  is  no  more  heard  beneath  thy  balconies  ;  the 
lively  Castanet  is  silent  upon  thy  hills  ;  the  graceful 
dance  of  the  Zambra  is  no  more  seen  beneath  thy  bow- 
ers !  Beautiful  Granada !  Why  is  the  Alhambra  so 
lorn  and  desolate  ?  The  orange  and  myrtle  sUU  breathe 
their  perfumes  into  its  silken  chambers ;  the  nightin- 
gale still  sings  within  its  groves,  its  marble  halls  are 
still  refreshed  with  the  plash  of  fountains  and  the  gush 
of  limpid  rills.  Alas,  alas,  the  countenance  of  the 
king  no  longer  shines  within  those  walls.  The  light  of 
the  Alhambra  is  set  forever." 

Abul  Hacen  now  returned  to  Granada  and  was  wel- 
comed with  acclaim  by  its  fickle  population.  By  a 
subtle  show  of  sympathy  and  magnanimity  the  Catholic 
sovereigns  contrived  to  win  over  Boabdil  completely  to 
their  interests.  Various  overtures  from  the  rival  fac- 
tions in  the  Moorish  metropolis  concerning  him  were 
made  and  rejected,  and  Boabdil  continued  to  remain  a 
prisoner  in  the  hands  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 
These  '^puissant  and  ostentatious"  sovereigns  were 
warmly  entreated  by  the  marquis  of  Cadiz  to  release 
Boabdil   unconditionally  j  others  counselled   captivity. 


294 


Subjugation  of  the  Moors, 


The  opinion  of  the  noble-minded  Isabella  at  length 
prevailed.  Boabdil  was  to  be  released  on  condition 
that  he  should  remain  like  his  forefathers  a  vassal  of 
the  Castilian  crown  ;  military  tribute  must  be  exacted, 
military  service  performed,  and  safe-conducts  and  main- 
tenance guaranteed  for  the  Christian  troops  that  should 
pass  through  the  places  adhering  to  Boabdil. 

Boabdil,  after  his  romantic  captivity  at  Cordova, 
entered  Granada  by  stealth,  hoping  to  rouse  the  people 
and  drive  his  father  from  the  Alhambra.  His  noble- 
hearted  mother  Ayxa  did  all  she  could  to  strengthen  his 
cause,  telling  him  that  it  was  no  time  for  tears  or  senti- 
mentality, that  he  had  done  well  to  throw  himself  reso- 
lutely into  Granada,  "but  it  must  depend  upon  thyself 
whether  thou  remain  here  a  king  or  a  captive." 

But  Boabdil,  too  weak  to  maintain  himself  against 
his  lion-hearted  father,  and  too  vacillating  to  rouse  per- 
sonal enthusiasm  in  his  followers,  retired  in  shame  to 
Almeria,  followed  by  the  scorn  of  his  mother  who  dis- 
dainfully remarked  that  he  was  not  worthy  of  being 
called  a  king  who  was  not  master  of  his  capital. 

A  singular  incident  characteristic  of  the  quaint  spirit 
of  the  time  accompanied  the  processions,  illuminations, 
and  festivities  with  which  the  victory  of  Lopera,  gained 
by  the  Christians  in  1483,  was  commemorated.  It  is  said 
that  Ferdinand  sent  the  successful  general,  the  marquis 
of  Cadiz,  the  royal  raiment  he  had  worn  on  that  day, 
together  with  the  privilege  for  himself  and  his  posterity 
of  wearing  royal  robes  ever  afterward  on  Our  Lady's  day, 
in  remembrance  of  his  part  in  the  enterprise.  Queen 
Isabella,  not  to  be  outdone  by  her  lord,  sent  her  brocade 
and  vestments  worn  the  same  day,  to   the  wife  of  the 


A  ''  Subtle  Alchemy. 


^? 


295 


other  commander,  Don  Luis  Fernandez  Puerto  Carrero, 
to  be  worn  by  her  during  life  on  the  anniversary  of  this 

battle.  .  ,  ,.,  •      1 

The  count  de  Cabra,  who  had  captured  Boabdil  in  the 
battle  of  Lucena,  was  permitted  to  have  as  armorial 
bearings  a  Moor's  head  crowned,  with  a  chain  of  gold 
round  die  neck  in  a  sanguine  field,  and  twenty-two  ban- 
ners —  the  number  captured  in  the  fight  —  round  the 
marcrin  of  the  escutcheon.  Their  descendants  are  said 
to  wear  these  arms  to  this  day. 

Meanwhile  the  count  of  Tendilla  kept  watch  in  the 
castle  of  Alhama,  which  commanded  the  high-road  to 
Malaga  and  a  view  over  the  vega.  So  vigilant  was  his 
watch  that  the  historian  says  a  beetle  could  not  crawl 
across  the  vega  without  being  seen  by  him.  Finding 
his  people  growing  mutinous,  however,  because  they 
had  long  been  unpaid,  he  resorted  to  the  ingenious 
expedient  of  inscribing  sums  of  money  on  bits  of 
paper,  and  then  compelled  the  people  of  Alhama  to 
take  them  at  their  full  value.  The  historian  adds  that 
this  subtle  alchemy  of  the  transmutation  of  worthless 
paper  into  precious  gold  and  silver  was  afterwards  justi- 
fied by  the  redemption  of  the  paper  in  real  metal. 

In  some  of  the  border  skirmishes  of  this  period  Fer- 
dinand was  so  struck  by  the  efl:ect  of  his  rude  artiller>' 
in  battering  down  castles  that  he  immediately  multi- 
plied the  number  of  the  lombards  in  his  possession,  and 
henceforth  dealt  on  terms  of  easy  superiority  with  his 

foes. 

Coin  and  Cartama  soon  fell  into  the  hands  of  Ferdi- 
nand, and  the  monarch  then  captured  Ronda,  an  al- 
most impregnable  stronghold  cresting  a  towering  rock 


296 


Subjugation  of  the  Moors, 


Boahdil  at  Loxa. 


297 


bathed  beneath  by  the  crystal  waters  of  the  Rio  Verde, 
so  exquisitely  commemorated  by  the  bishop  of  Dro- 
more  in  his  translation  from  the  Spanish. 

Rio  Verde,  Rio  Verde, 

Many  a  corpse  is  bathed  in  thee 
Both  of  Moors  and  else  of  Christians, 

Slain  with  swords  most  cruelly. 

And  thy  pure  and  crystals  waters 

Dappled  are  with  crimson  gore; 
For  between  the  Moors  and  Christians 

Long  has  been  the  fight  and  sore. 

Dukes  and  counts  fell  bleeding  near  thee, 

Lords  of  high  renown  were  slain, 
Perished  many  a  brave  hidalgo 

Of  the  noblemen  of  Spain. 

Seventy-two  places  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Chris- 
tians during  this  expedition,  showing  both  the  enormous 
populousness  of  the  neighborhood  and  the  energy  of 
the  king.  Innumerable  encounters,  exasperated  by 
difficulty  of  situation,  religious  intolerance,  bitter  recol- 
lections and  boundless  aspirations,  ensanguined  the 
sierras  and  kept  both  sides  in  continual  wakefulness. 
El  Zagal,  Boabdil's  uncle,  invited  to  take  command  in 
Granada,  proved  a  powerful  and  vindictive  opponent. 

The  history  of  the  war  now  becomes  an  infinite 
flicker  of  light  and  shade,  success  and  humiliation, 
anarchy  and  organization.  The  ebbing  tide  is  on  the 
side  of  the  Moors,  while  Ferdinand  with  stealthy  but 
indomitable  persistence  gradually  gathers  in  town  after 
town.  Among  his  many  failures  there  were  many  vic- 
tories, and  though  often  discouraged,  he  pushed  for- 
ward with  a  serene  self-possession  and  hope  that  inspired 
all  and  accomplished  all. 


Just  after  the  conquest  of  Zalea  by  the  knights  of 
Calatrava,  in  1485,  the  queen  gave  birth  to  Catharine 
of  Aragon  (Dec.  16,  1485),  afterward  wife  of  Henry 
VI IL  of  England. 

The  death  of  old  Abul  Hacen  about  this  time,  resulted 
in  a  partial  restoration  of  Boabdil  to  shadowy  power 
in  Murcia.  A  splendid  army  assembled  at  Cordova  in 
i486  for  the  further  prosecution  of  the  war,  and  elo- 
quent are  the  descriptions  of  the  vari-colored  pavilions, 
the  silken  hangings,  the  gold  and  silver  services,  the 
sumpter  mules  and  Andalusian  jennets  with  silken  hal- 
ters and  embroidered  housings,  the  feasts  and  revels 
and  midnight  cavalcades,  the  plumed  helmets,  the  pol- 
ished armor  blazing  by  torchlight,  the  pomp  and 
pageantry  of  pages  and  lackeys,  accompanying  the 
assembly.  Twelve  thousand  cavalry,  forty  thousand 
foot,  and  six  thousand  pioneers  sallied  forth  against 
Loxa,  with  the  king  at  their  head.  The  historian  here 
indulges  in  an  imaginative  outburst,  and  we  are  told 
that  "  the  gay  chansons  of  the  Frenchman,  singing  of 
his  amours  on  the  pleasant  banks  of  the  Loire  or  the 
sunny  regions  of  the  Garonne  ;  the  broad  guttural  tones 
of  the  German,  chanting  some  doughty  krieger-Ued^  or 
extolling  the  vintage  of  the  Rhine ;  the  wild  romance 
of  the  Spaniard  reciting  the  achievements  of  the  Cid, 
and  many  a  famous  passage  of  the  Moorish  wars ;  and 
the  long  and  melancholy  ditty  of  the  Englishman,"  re- 
sounded around  the  Castilian  camp-fires.  Loxa  unable 
to  hold  out  against  this  host,  capitulated  after  a  vigorous 
resistance,  and  among  the  captives,  the  unlucky  Boab- 
dil, who  had  hastened  to  defend  Loxa,  in  violation 
of  his  arrangement  with  Ferdinand,  was  found. 


298 


Subjugation  of  the  Moors, 


The  capture  of  Illora  and  Moclin  ensued,  the  latter 
a  town  on  the  frontier  of  Jaen. 

The  part  which  Isabella  took  in  these  flying  pursuits 
and  sieges  is  thus  quaintly  glossed  by  a  chronicler  : 
'*  While  the  king  marched  in  front,  laying  waste  the 
lands  of  the  Philistines,  Queen  Isabella  followed  his 
traces,  as  the  binder  follows  the  reaper,  gathering  and 
garnering  the  rich  harvest  that  has  fallen  beneath  his 
sickle.  In  this  she  was  greatly  assisted  by  the  counsels 
of  that  cloud  of  bishops,  friars,  and  other  saintly  men, 
which  continually  surrounded  her,  garnering  the  first 
fruits  of  this  infidel  land  into  the  granaries  of  the 
church." 

The  episodic  character  of  the  war  gradually  changed 
and  was  now  concentrated  on  one  of  its  crowning 
achievements  —  the  siege  of  Malaga. 

Malaga  was  called  "the hand  and  mouth  of  Granada." 
from  its  being  a  great  seaport  town  and  keeping  open 
communication  with  the  other  Mahometan  powers  of 
Turkey,  Eg>pt,  and  the  Barbary  states.  In  a  situation 
of  surpassing  loveliness,  and  commanding  a  plain  that 
opens  like  a  fan  on  the  Mediterranean,  rich  as  some 
antique-figured  tapestry,  with  groves  of  orange,  olive, 
and  pomegranate,  the  golden  grain-fields  of  Malaga  yel- 
low in  an  air  ambered  by  the  most  passionate  sunshine, 
while  the  perfume-sprinkled  atmosphere,  confined  by 
lofty  mountains  as  in  a  mighty  transparent  basin,  has  a 
delicacy  and  voluptuousness  unknown  elsewhere  in 
Andalusia.  In  this  epicurean  abode  rose  the  thronging 
battlements  and  fortresses  of  the  Alcazaba,  Gibralfaro, 
and  Malaga  itself,  scowling  defiance  at  the  enemy,  and 
serene  in  the  consciousness  of  almost  impregnable  sites. 


The  Picturesque  Slegj  of  Malaga,  ^01 

No  sooner  had  Ferdinand,  after  the  conquest  of  the 
neighboring  town  of  Fe/ez  Malaga,  appeared  and  in- 
vested the  place,  than  the  wealthy  mercantile  popula- 
tion, enervated  by  luxury,  and  dreading  the  horrors  of 
a  lingering  siege,  were  desirous  of  surrendernig.  But 
Hamet  El  Zegri ;  who  commanded  the  crag-built  castle 
of  Gibralfaro  opposite  the  city,  despised  the  weakness 
of  the  population,  and  determined,  come  what  would, 

to  hold  the  place. 

An  infinitely  picturesque  siege,  embellished  by  every 
imaginable  romantic  incident,  —  sallies,  storming  parties, 
thunderings  of  ponderous  artillery,  attempts  at  assassi- 
nation of   the  king  and  queen  by  a  Moorish  fanatic, 
mines   and   counter-mines,  embassies   and   stratagems, 
single  combats  and  impassioned  engagements,— varied 
the'' monotony   of   many   months.      Groves   of   spark- 
ling lances,  legions  of  helms  and  cuirasses,  battalions 
of  cross-bowmen  and  arequebusiers,  took  their  places 
under    the   walls  ;     and   summons  after    summons  to 
surrender,    on   favorable    and   on   unfavorable    terms, 
was  sent  in,  to  be  rejected  with  scorn,  by  Hamet  and 
his  followers.     Headlong  fights,  mutual  discomfitures, 
going  and  coming  of  emissaries,  vast  preparations  of 
carpenters  and  engineers,  bursting  of  meteor-like  masses 
of  combustibles  over  the  devoted  city,  furious  resistances, 
carrying  and  counter-carrying  of  ditches,  palisadoes  and 
bridges,  courtly  grace  and   beauty  — for  Isabella  was 
there  —  intermingled  with  the  hideous  shock,  confusion, 
ferocity  and   havoc  of  war  ;   such  was   the   unrivalled 
scene  before  Malaga.     But  Malaga  fell. 

Boabdil,  by  another  of  the  kaleidoscopic  vicissitudes 
of  this  ever-changing  war,  had  now  succeeded  in  driving 


302  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

El  Zagal  from  Granada,  and  ensconced  in  his  royal 
palace  of  the  Alhambra,  sent  gratulation  to  the  Catho- 
lic sovereigns  for  their  success,  accompanied  by  rich 
gifts  of  Arabian  perfumes,  silks,  magnificently  capari- 
soned steeds,  embroidered  robes,  richly  mounted  arms, 
and  costly  burnouses. 

Eventually  Hunger,  Discord,  Despair  —  those  mighty 
magicians  that  have  converted  so  many  sieges  into  cap- 
itulations, so  many  heroes  into  cowards  —  prevailed  ; 
and  unhappy  Malaga,  led  by  Ali  Dordux,  an  opulent 
merchant,  came  to  terms. 

The  Moorish  inhabitants  were  ransomed  individually 
at  thirty  golden  dob/as  each,  man,  woman,  and  child. 
All  their  jewels  and  coin  had  to  be  surrendered  to  the 
government  as  part  payment  of  the  ransom,  and  the 
rest  was  to  be  paid  in  eight  months ;  even  ransoms  had 
to  be  paid  for  those  who  had  died  meantime.  Slavery 
was  the  doom  awaiting  those  unable  to  pay.  The  poli- 
tic Ferdinand  took  care  that  the  majority  of  the  cap- 
tives should  not  meet  these  stipulations,  and  some  say 
that  from  eleven  thousand  to  fifteen  thousand  of  them 
became  slaves  and  were  scattered  throughout  Spain. 

A  Catholic  chronicler  preserves  to  us  the  legend  of 
the  passionate  lament  of  the  people  of  Malaga  over 
their  lost  city,  their  vanished  liberty,  and  their  profound 
desolation. 

''•  Oh  Malaga,  city  so  renowned  and  beautiful,  where 
now  is  the  strength  of  thy  castle  ?  where  the  grandeur 
of  thy  towers?  Of  what'  avail  have  been  thy  mighty 
walls  for  the  protection  of  thy  children  .?  Behold  them 
driven  from  thy  pleasant  abodes,  doomed  to  drag  out  a 
life  of  bondage  in  a  foreign   land,  and  to  die  far  from 


G-ranada  Demanded, 


303 


the  home  of  their  infancy !  What  will  become  of  thy 
old  men  and  matrons,  vvrhen  their  gray  hairs  shall  be  no 
longer  reverenced .?  What  will  become  of  thy  maidens, 
so  delicately  reared  and  tenderly  cherished,  when  re- 
duced to. hard  and  menial  servitude?  Behold  thy  once 
happy  families  scattered  asunder,  never  again  to  be 
united;  sons  separated  from  their  fathers,  husbands 
from  their  wives,  and  tender  children  from  their  moth- 
ers ;  they  will  bewail  each  other  in  foreign  lands,  but 
their  lamentations  will  be  the  scoff  of  the  stranger.  Oh 
Malaga,  city  of  our  birth,  who  can  behold  thy  desola- 
tion, and  not  shed  tears  of  bitterness  ? " 

Ferdinand  at  once  proceeded  against  the  remaining 
dominions  of  Abdallah  El  Zagal  —  dominions  now  a 
mere  fragment  of  densely-populated  sierra  and  sea- 
coast.  This  was  in  1488.  The  populous  cities  of  Baza, 
Guadix,  and  Almeria  (an  important  sea-port),  with 
numerous  small  towns  which  were  sprinkled  about  these 
dominions,  from  the  frontiers  of  Jaen,  along  the  border 
of  Murcia,  to  the  Mediterranean,  the  Alpujarra  range, 
and  the  perennial  fountains  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  soon 

fell. 

Boabdil  was  now  reminded  of  a  treaty  which  had 
been  made  between  him  and  Ferdinand;  this  treaty 
stipulated  that  in  case  the  Catholic  sovereigns  should 
gain  the  cities  of  Guadix,  Baza,  and  Almeria,  Boabdil 
should  surrender  Granada,  and  accept  in  exchange  sev- 
eral Moorish  towns,  to  be  held  by  him  as  vassal.  Being 
called  upon  to  fulfil  his  engagements  Boabdil  faltered, 
hesitated,  temporized,  and  finally,  by  the  influence  of 
Muza  Abul  Gazan,  a  cavalier  of  royal  lineage,  great 
beauty,  and  chivalrous  feeling,,  sent  in  a  negative  to  Fer- 


304  Ileign  of  Ferdinand  and  hahdla, 

dinand's   demand  for  the  surrender  of  Granada.     King 
Ferdinand  then  turned  his  hostilities  against  this  city.  ^ 
Here  then,  amid  the  luxuriance  and   beauty  of  the 
vega  of  Granada,  encircled  by  the  silvery  crests  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  overhung  by  the  delightful  groves  and 
towers  of  the  Alhambra,  surrounded  by  the  poetic  asso- 
•    ciations  and  passionate  souvenirs  of  the  expiring  Kha- 
lifate  — here,  in  this  second  Damascus,  this  city  of  cun- 
ning artificers,  dextrous  horsemen,  and  graceful  civiliza- 
tion—here where  the  Darro  and  the  Xenil  came  down 
from  the  mountains  of  the  myrtles,  and,  according  to 
Moorish  legend,  ran  grains  of  gold  and  silver  as  they 
united  and  meandered    through  the  heavenly  plain  of 
Granada;  in  this  spot,  sacred  to  stormy  and  tumultuous 
sensuality,  to  revolution,  to  Arabian  poetry,  to  the  Kha- 
lifs  and  sultanas,  to  religious  fanaticism,  tolerance,  cul- 
ture, bloodshed,  to  every  paradox  in  short,  the   Moors 
were  to  make  their  last  stand  and  vanquish  or  die  in 
the  holy  battle  of  the  faith. 

Astonished  and  bewildered,  the  Moslems  saw  their 
empire  departing  from  them  by  inches,  until  now,  Gran- 
ada alone  —  Granada  the  incomparable  —  remained. 

Both  sides  made  preparations  for  desperate  measures. 
King  Ferdinand,  after  a  winter  of  preparation,  took  the 
field  in  April,  with  forty  thousand  foot,  and  ten  thousand 
horse,  resolved  to  sit  down  before  Granada  and  never 
to  quit  its  walls  until  the  great  banner  of  the  cross 
waved  from  the  mocking  bastions  of  the  Alhambra. 
Ponce  de  Leon,  marquis  of  Cadiz,  Alonzo  de  Aguilar, 
the  master  of  Santiago,  and  the  counts  of  Cabra,' 
Urena,  Cifuentes,  and  Tendilla,  were  among  the  valiant 
captains    most    conspicuous    in    this    campaign.     The 


The  Siege  of  Granada, 


805 


Moorish  chivalry  within  the  gates  of  the  doomed  city, 
swore  eternal  vengeance,  constancy,  and  fidelity,  and 
were  led  on  by  Muza,  Nairn  Reduan,  Mohamad  Aben- 
Zayde,  Abdel  Kerim  Zegri,  and  the  alcaydes  of  the  Al- 
cazaba  and  the  palace.  A  spirit  of  contempt,  of  flam- 
ing zeal,  of  exultant  enthusiasm,  of  passionate  despair, 
fired  and  animated  the  twenty  thousand  young  men  of 

the  city. 

The  beginning  of  the  siege  was  more  like  a  stately 
tournament;  and  gallantry,  rich  armor,  and  skilfully 
manipulated  steeds  were  the  order  of  the  day.  Soon 
Ferdinand  forbade  the  acceptance  of  individual  chal- 
lenges, from  the  loss  they  occasioned,  and  with  grim 
resolution  went  to  work  to  build  a  fortified  camp  sup- 
plied with  every  necessary  for  a  long-continued  in- 
vestment. 

The  gallant  Hernan  Perez  del  Pulgar  succeeded  in 
entering  Granada  and  affixing  a  parchment  containing 
Ave  Maria  in  large  letters  to  the  door  of  the  principal 
mosque.  This  was  done  in  retaliation  for  the  defiance 
of  Tarfe  the  Moor,  who,  dashing  through  the  Christian 
camp,  hurled  his  lance,  with  a  message  for  the  queen 
attached,  at  the  pavilion  of  the  sovereigns. 

Charles  V.  perpetuated  Pulgar's  exploit  by  permitting 
him  and  his  descendants  to  sit  during  high  mass,  in  the 
choir  of  the  church  built  on  the  spot,  and  assigned  as 
burial  place  for  Pulgar  himself,  the  identical  ground 
where  he  had  kneeled  to  nail  the  sacred  legend. 

The  despairing  valor  of  the  Moors  now  shot  up  in 
one  culminating  blaze ;  an  impetuous  sally  toward  the 
close  was  made  by  Muza  and  Boabdil,  but  was  utterly 
frustrated  by  the  enemy's   overwhelming  force.      The 


806         Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 


Moors  retired  broken-hearted  within  their  beautiful, 
blood-stained  city,  never  more  to  come  forth  save  to 
shame  and  degradation.  "Their  obstinate  resistance," 
says  Abarca.  in  his  chronicles  of  the  kings  of  Aragon, 
'*  shows  the  grief  with  which  they  yielded  up  the  vega, 
which  was  to  them  a  paradise  and  heaven.  Exerting 
all  the  strength  of  their  arms,  they  embraced,  as  it 
were,  that  most  beloved  soil,  from  which  neither  wounds, 
nor  defeats,  nor  death  itself,  could  part  them.  They 
stood  firm,  battling  for  it  with  the  united  force  of  love 
and  grief,  never  drawing  back  the  foot  while  they  had 
hand  to  fight  or  fortune  to  befriend  them." 

After  a  fire  originating  in  the  royal  pavilion,  which 
swept  away  an  immense  quantity  of  plate,  jewels,  costly 
stuffs,  and  armor,  the  wary  Ferdinand  resolved,  as  well 
to  protect  himself  against  a  second  contingency  of  the 
kind,  as  against  the  rigors  of  the  approaching  winter, 
to  build  a  substantial  camp ;  so  that  it  was  said  that 
where  lately  nothing  but  airy  tents  and  fluttering  drap- 
eries were  seenj  now  rose  as  if  by  miracle,  mighty 
towers,  powerful  walls,  and  solid  edifices  —  the  cruci- 
form camp-city  of  Santa  Fe,  as  it  was  christened  by  the 
devout  Isabella. 

Hopeless  at  the  sight  of  such  preparations,  tortured 
by  famine,  faction,  suffering,  and  the  terror  of  death, 
the  people  of  Granada  capitulated  on  the  2nd  of  Jan- 
uar}',  1492.  Muza  made  his  escape  and  mysteriously 
disappeared,  never  to  be  heard  of  again. 

That  there  should  be  unconditional  liberation  of  all 
Christian  captives ;  that  Boabdil  and  his  cavaliers 
should  do  homage  and  swear  fealty  to  the  Castilian  sov- 
ereigns ;   that  the    Moors  of   Granada  should    become 


SEQOVIA:    TilE    ALCAZAli    -^\u    (jAJ-iiEDRAL. 


The  Oapitulat'ion. 


809 


subjects  of  the  crown,  be  protected  in  their  reUgious 
observances,  be  governed  by  their  own  cadis,  be  ex- 
empted from  tribute  for  three  years,  and  then  should 
pay  the  same  they  had  been  wont  to  pay  to  their  own 
rulers  ;  that  those  so  desiring  should  depart  to  Africa 
with  their  effects  and  be  given  passage  thither ;  such 
are  the  main  outlines  of  the  stipulations  affecting  the 

vanquislied. 

Boabdil  had  estates  provided  in  perpetuity  for  him 
and  his  descendants  within  and  without  Granada,  to- 
gether witli  whatever  had  formed  the  royal  patrimony 
before  the  surre.ider  :  and  towns  and  lands  in  the  Alpu- 
j arras  were  set  aside  as  a  sort  of  miniature  sovereignty 
for  him.  He  was  to  receive  also  on  the  day  of  sur- 
render, thirty  thousand  doblas  of  gold. 

The  sad  ceremonies  of  the  capitulation  took  place  in 
the  presence  of  a  countless  multitude.  Three  minute 
guns  thundered  out  the  dying  liberties  of  Morisma,  and 
Boabdil,  sallying  forth  from  the  Portal  of  the  Seven 
Floors,  delivered  the  keys  of  the  city  to  Ferdinand  in 
token  of  submission.  "These  keys,"  said  he,  "are  the 
last  relics  of  the  Arabian  empire  in  Spain  ;  thine,  O 
king,  are  our  trophies,  our  kingdom,  and  our  person. 
Such  is  the  will  of  God  !  Receive  them  with  the  clem- 
ency thou  hast  promised,  and  which  we  look  for  at  thy 

hands." 

Presenting  the  count  of  Tendilla,  who  was  to  be  gov- 
ernor of  the  city,  with  a  costly  ring,  "  With  this  ring," 
said  he,  "Granada  has  been  governed;  take  it  and 
govern  with  it,  and  God  make  you  more  fortunate  than 


me. 


?> 


When  Boabdil,  in  his  setting  forth,  reached  an  emi 


810 


Reign  of  FerdiJiand  and  Isabella. 


The  Flight  from  G-ranada. 


311 


nence  which  commanded  the  last  view  of  Granada,  and 
looking  back  saw  the  great  crucifix  sparkling  in  the 
sunbeams  that  gave  a  pathetic  loveliness  to  the  Alham- 
bra,  it  is  said  that,  over-charged  with  grief,  he  could  con- 
tain himself  no  longer,  but  bursting  into  tears,  ex- 
claimed, "  Allah  Achbah  !  God  is  great !  "  "  You  do 
well,"  exclaimed  the  wrathful  Ayxa,  "to  weep  like  a 
woman  for  what  you  failed  to  defend  like  a  man." 

Down  to  late  generations,  the  spot  where  the  Moor 
turned  back  and  beheld  the  illumined  minarets  of  the 
Alhambra  for  the  last  time,  was  called  "  the  Last  Sigh 
of  the  Moor." 

THE    FLIGHT    FROM    GRANADA. 

There  was  crying  in  Granada  when  the  sun  was  going  down  ; 
Some  calling  on  the  Trinity,  some  calling  on  Mahoun. 
Here  passed  away  the  Koran   there  in  the  Cross  was  borne,  — 
And  here  was  heard  the  Christian  bell,  and  there  the  Moorish 
horn ; 

Te  Deimi  LauJamns,  was  up  the  Ale ala sung; 

Down  from  the  Alhambra's  minarets  were  all  the  crescents  flung : 

The  arms  thereon  of  Aragon  they  with  Castile's  display ; 

One  king  comes  in  in  triumph,  —  one  weeping  goes  away. 

Thus  cried  the  weeper,  while  his  hands  his  old  white  beard  did  tear  ; 

"  Farewell,  farewell,  Granada  !  thou  city  v;ithout  peer  ! 

Woe,  woe,  thou  pride  of  heathendom  !  seven  hundred  years  and 

more 
Have  gone  since  tirst  the  faithful  thy  royal  sceptre  bore. 

**  Thou  wert  the  happy  mother  of  a  high  renowned  race ; 
Within  thee  dwelt  a  haughty  line,  that  now  go  from  their  place; 
Within  thee  fearless  knights  did  dwell,  who  fought  with  mickle 

glee,— 
The  enemies  of  proud  Castile,  —  the  bane  of  Christentie! 


'•  The  mother  of  fair  dames  wert  thou,  of  truth  and  beauty  rare. 
Into  whose  arms  did  courteous  knights  for  solace  sweet  repair; 
For  whose  dear  sakes  the  gallants  of  Afric  made  display 
Of  might  in  joust  and  battle  on  many  a  bloody  day. 

"  Here  gallants  held  it  little  thing  for  ladies'  sake  to  die, 
Or  for  the  prophet's  honor,  and  pride  of  Soldanry ; 
For  here  did  valor  flourish,  and  deeds  of  warlike  might 
Ennobled  lordly  palaces  in  which  was  our  delight. 
"The  gardens  of  thy  Vega,  its  fields  and  blooming  bowers,— 
Woe,  woe  !  I  see  their  beauty  gone,  and  scattered  all  their  flowers  ! 
No  reverence  can  he  claim,  —  the  king  that  such  a  land  hath  lost,— 
On  charger  never  can  he  ride,  nor  be  heard  among  the  host ; 
Bat  in  some  dark  and  dismal  place,  where  none  his  face  may  see, 
There,  weeping  and  lamenting,  alone  that  King  should  be." 

Lock  HA  KT. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

REIGN   OF   FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA. 

[continued.] 


WHILE,  says  an  accomplished  historian,  the 
Spanish  sovereigns  were  detained  before 
Granada,  they  pubUshed  their  memorable  and  most 
disastrous  edict  against  the  Jews ;  inscribing  it,  as  it 
were,  with  the  same  pen  that  drew  up  the  capitulation 
of  Granada  and  the  treaty  with  Columbus. 

Throughout  the  peninsula  the  Jews  had  attained  an 
enviable  degree  of  prosperity  and  wealth  ;  sufficient 
excuse  for  the  action  of  the  Inquisition.  Though 
three  of  the  queen's  private  secretaries,  Alvarez,  Avila, 
and  Pulgar  were  converted  Jews,  the  great  mass  of  the 
Jewish  subjects  passionately  adhered  to  the  ancient 
ritual.  This  of  itself  was  a  scandal  to  Spanish  Chris- 
tendom ;  but  now,  since  proselytism  met  with  stubborn 
opposition  on  their  part,  the  Jews  were  accused  of  kid- 
napping and  circumcising  Christian  children  or  cruci- 
fying them  on  Good  Friday  in  derision  of  Christ, 
while  indiscriminate  charges  of  poisoning  were  brought 
against  the  Jewish  apothecaries  and  physicians,  and 
conversion  of  Catholics  to  the  Jewish  rite  was  alleged. 
It  was  asserted  by  the  inquisitors  that  the  only  method 
of  extirpating  Israelitish  practices  absolutely,  was  expul- 

312 


Toj'quemaday  the  Inquisitor, 


313 


sion  of  the  race,  allied  though  it  might  be  by  blood  and 
marriage  with  some  of  the  best  stock  of  the  realm  ;  and 
the  immediate  and  final  banishment  of  every  unbaptized 
Israelite  from  the  kingdom  was  insisted  on.  While 
certain  prominent  Jews  were  trying  to  propitiate  the 
sovereigns,  in  their  sore  pecuniary  distress,  by  offers  of 
thirty  thousand  ducats  towards  defraying  the  expenses 
of  the  Moorish  war,  Torquemada,  the  grand  inquisitor, 
burst  into  the  palace  of  the  sovereigns,  and  drawing 
forth  a  crucifix  from  beneath  his  mantle,  held  it  up, 
exclaiming,  "  Judas  Iscariot  sold  his  master  for  thirty 
pieces  of  silver.  Your  Highnesses  would  sell  him 
again  for  thirty  thousand  ;  here  he  is  ;  take  him  and 
barter  him  away."  Dashing  the  crucifix  on  the  table, 
he  rushed  out  of  the  apartment.  The  unparalleled  im- 
pudence of  this  outburst  had  as  its  result  the  loss  of 
the  most  skilful  and  ingenious  portion  of  the  popula- 
tion. The  queen,  overawed  by  the  Dominican  Torque- 
mada, and  accustomed  to  almost  total  obedience  in 
matters  of  faith,  yielded,  contrary  to  her  own  humane 
and  noble  instincts,  to  the  fierce  suggestions  of  her 
confessor.  Torquemada  triumphed,  and  the  edict  for 
the  expulsion  of  the  Jews  was  signed  March  30,  1492. 

It  is  infinitely  pathetic  to  read  of  the  effect  of  this 
instrument  in  the  homes  of  the  exiled  Israelites.  Many 
of  them,  reared  in  elegance,  highly  educated,  unaccus- 
tomed to  privations  of  any  sort,  full  of  patriotism,  loy- 
alty, and  self-sacrifice,  intimately  associated  with  all  the 
glories  and  all  the  humiliations  of  Spain,  now  branded 
with  infamy,  were  cast  out  helpless  and  defenceless, 
forbidden  even  to  take  their  gold  and  silver  with  them, 
compelled  in  some  cases  to  exchange  a  house  for  an 


314  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 

ass,  and  a  vineyard  for  a  suit  of  clothes,  but  pathetically 
constant  and  full  of  a  sublime  fortitude  to  the  last. 

The  highways  were  thronged  with  delicate  women, 
gray-haired  old  men,  and  weeping  children,  on  their  way 
to  unknown  and  inhospitable  lands,  perhaps  to  slavery 
and  death  ;  eighty  thousand  passed  into  Portugal ;  many 
wandered  hopeless  to  Cadiz  and  Santa  Maria,  and  took 
passage  for  Africa,  where  they  were  plundered  or  slain 
by  the  robbers  of  Barbary.  Agonizing  details  of  hunger, 
violation,  and  cruelty  reach  us  from  this  time.  Some 
managed  to  secrete  a  little  money  in  their  garments  or 
saddles  ;  or,  having  been  suspected  of  swallowing  gold 
and  silver  coins,  were  ripped  open  with  unspeakable 
torments  and  searched  for  the  imagined  wealth.  Num- 
bers, unable  to  endure  the  sorrows  and  hardships  of 
wandering,  staggered  back  to  the  beloved  fatherland 
and  were  forced  to  the  indignity  of  baptism,  and  that 
in  such  multitudes,  that  they  could  not  be  individually 
baptized  but  had  to  submit  to  sprinkling  with  a  mop  or 
a  hyssop-branch  ;  "  thus,"  (forsooth)  "  renouncing  their 
ancient  heresies,  they  became  faithful  followers  of  the 

Cross." 

At  Naples,  great  numbers  of  them  were  swept  off  by 
a  malignant  disease ;  in  Genoa,  indescribable  suffering 
accompanied  those  who  had  taken  refuge  there;  the 
Levant  and  Turkey  were  filled  with  them,  and  their 
descendants  still  cling  to  the  Castilian  as  their  home 
vernacular.  England,  France,  and  Holland  harbored  a 
multitude,  and  it  is  said  that  even  to-day  the  Spanish  is 
heard  in  some  of  the  London  synagogues.  The  whole 
number  of  exiles  is  computed  to  be  between  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  thousand  and  eight  hundred  thousand 


^'^SSSiS^ 


PRISON  OF  THE  INQUISITION  AT  BARCELONA. 


Expulsion  of  the  Jews, 


317 


thousand  ;  the  more  cautious  historians  incline  to  the 
smaller  estimate. 

The  loss  of  the  Jews,  soon  to  be  followed  by  that  of 
the  Moors,  was  irretrievable.  The  humiliation,  ferocity, 
violation  of  all  law  and  justice,  and  monstrous  impiety 
involved  in  such  a  deed  cannot  be  described  in  words; 
and  though  the  subject  of  lavish  encomiums  from  en- 
lightened contemporaries  and  of  exultation  as  a  great 
victory  of  the  cross,  the  expulsion  of  the  Jews  must 
ever  leave  a  stain  on  the  otherwise  spotless  memory  of 

Isabella. 

The  attempted  assassination  of  Ferdinand  while  on  a 
visit  to  Catalonia  in  1492,  after  the  conclusion  of  hos- 
tilities at  Granada,  spread  general  consternation  through 

the  country. 

While  Isabella's  genius  devoted  itself  with  serene 
and  lucid  intelligence  to  the  interior  administration  and 
organization  of  Spain,  Ferdinand's  temper  and  ambi- 
tion signalized  themselves  by  characteristic  devotion  to 
the  foreign  interests  of  the  land.  This  leads  us  to  an 
outline  of  the  Italian  wars. 

The  great  cause  of  these  complications  was  the 
claim  of  Charles  VIII.  to  the  crown  of  Naples,  which 
had  been  in  the  possession  of  the  Aragonese  family  for 
more  than  half  a  century,  and  had  been  solemnly  so 
recognized  by  repeated  sanctions  of  pope  and  people. 
Charles's  claim  was  derived  originally  from  a  bequest 
of  Rene,  count  of  Provence,  who  excluded  his  own 
grandson,  the  rightful  heir  of  the  house  of  Anjou,  in 
favor  of  the  French  king.  At  the  time  a  misunder- 
standing existed  between  Charles  and  Spain  ;  he  was  at 
war  with  Germany  and  England,  and  little  benefit  could 


818  Jlp-lg7i  of  Ferdinand  arid  Isabella. 

be  expected  even  if  he  succeeded  in  establishing  his 
claim.  But  seeing  the  necessity  of  adopting  a  concilia- 
tory policy,  he  proceeded  to  make  peace  with  Henry 
VII.  of  England  at  Etaples,  with  Maximilian,  emperor 
of  Germany,  at  Sesnli,  and  with  Ferdinand  at  Barcelona, 
By  the  treaty  with  P'erdinand  the  provinces  of  Cerdagne 
and  Roussillon,  originally  mortgaged  by  Ferdinand's 
father,  Juan  II.,  to  Louis  XL  of  France,  for  three  hun- 
dred thousand  crowns,  were  restored.  Louis  was  to 
furnish  aid  agrainst  Ferdinand's  rebellious  Catalonian 
subjects. 

Both  sides,  Iwwever,  failed  in  their  engagements. 
Ferdinand  with  the  dogged  perseverance  characteristic 
of  his  spirit,  pursued  his  determination  to  recover  these 
fair  provinces  by  fair  means  or  by  foul,  by  negotiation, 
bribery,  or  arms,  if  necessary.  Louis's  successor, 
Charles,  fortunately  being  impatient  to  prosecute  his 
designs  for  the  expulsion  of  Ferdinand  II.,  son  of 
Alfonso,  from  Naples,  yielded  with  all  imaginable  speed 
to  the  king  of  Spain's  solicitations  and  representations, 
and  a  treatv  was  siiincd"  bv  Charles  at  Tours  and  by 
Ferdinand  at  Barcelona,  January  19,  1493.  The  prin- 
cipal stipulations  of  this  treaty,  rendered  of  great  im- 
portance by  what  followed,  were  :  mutual  aid  in  war 
between  the  contracting  parties ;  each  should  prefer  the 
other's  alliance,  the  popes  excepted ;  Spain  should  enter 
into  no  understanding  with  any  power  prejudicial  to 
the  interests  of  France,  the  pope  excepted ;  Roussillon 
and  Cerdagne  should  be  restored  to  Aragon.  But  as 
doubts  existed  as  to  whom  these  provinces  rightfully 
appertained,  it  was  stipulated  that  arbitrators,  named 
by  the   Spanish  sovereigns,  should  be  appointed,  if  re- 


Italian    Wars. 


319 


quested    by  Charles,  with    plenary  powers   to   decide; 
and  that  both  sides  should  abide  by  their  decision. 

The  approaching  conflict  between  Charles  and  Al- 
fonso, successor  of  Ferdinand  his  father  (i494)»  was 
highly  interesting  to  Ferdinand,  because  he  feared  the 
formidable  preparations  of  Charles  would  result  in  the 
subversion  of  the  Neapolitan  branch  of  his  house,  and 
the  overthrow  of  his  own  dominions  in  Sicily.  Charles, 
surrounded  by  the  youthful  chivalry  of  his  court,  appears 
to  us,  in  the  garrulous  chronicles  of  Comines,  as  burning 
for  an  opportunity  to  distinguish  himself.  He  crossed 
the  Alps  in  August,  1494,  overran  the  country  with 
wonderful  alacrity,  treated  friends  and  allies  alike  with 
the  utmost  perfidy,  and  in  December  victoriously 
entered  the  gates  of  Rome. 

Meanwhile  Ferdinand,  by  means  of  his  ambassador 
Alonzo  de  Silva  had  come  to  an  explicit  understanding 
with  Charles,  who,  under  pretext  of  a  crusade  against 
the  Turks,  had  introduced  this  army  into  Italy  where 
he  intended  to  linger  just  long  enough  to  make  gopd 
his  claims  to  Naples.  Ferdinand,  after  some  prelim- 
inary compliments  and  generalities,  cautioned  him 
against  forming  any  designs  against  Naples,  which  was 
aleoff  of  the  church,  expressly  excepted  by  the  treaty 
of  Barcelona  which  recognized  the  claims  and  authority 
of  the  church  as  paramount  to  every  other  obligation. 

The  chagrin  of  Charles,  at  what  he  called  the  perfidy 
of  the  Spanish  court,  in  so  broadly  interpreting  the  com- 
pact of  Barcelona,  is  difficult  to  describe.  He  had 
hoped  for  Ferdinand's  non-interference,  or  even  for  his 
co-operation  in  the  conquest  of  Naples,  and  he  was 
greatly  astounded  that  the  rights  of  the  church,  perpet- 


fi 


320  Reli/n  of  Ferdinand  and  h<dn'Ua. 

ually  disregarded  and  trampled  under  foot,  should  now 
be  so  scrupulously  protected  by  the  power  beyond  the 
Pyrenees.  He  contemptuously  dismissed  the  Spanish 
envoy,  and  proceeded  hurriedh'  to  his  Italian  campaign. 
The  admirable  organization  of  the  French  infantr}-,  its 
employment  of  battalions  of  Swiss  mercenaries  armed 
with  huge  pikes  eighteen  feet  long,  grouped  in  bristling 
and  invulnerable  masses  called  the  hedgehog,  its  beauti- 
ful train  of  bronze  ordnance,  served  with  great  skill 
and  easily  capable  of  demolishing  the  flimsy  fortifica- 
tions of  the  time,  soo::  spread  panic  among  the  heavy 
armed  cavalry,  the  soldiers  of  fortune,  and  the  light 
and  dancing  chivalry  of  Italy.  Copper  tubes,  covered 
with  wood  and  hides,  were  no  match  for  the  artillery  of 
the  French,  and  the  Italian  soldierv,  who  sometimes 
fought  for  hours  without  loss  of  a  single  life  —  riveted 
in  plates  of  steel  as  they  were,  and  rejoicing  in  a  repose 
not  allowed  to  be  disturbed  by  the  thunder  of  guns 
between  sunset  and  sunrise  —  soon  gave  way  before  the 
French. 

Before  coming  to  an  open  rupture  with  Charles,  Fer- 
dinand, in  Jai"iuary  1495,  ^^^^^  another  embassy  to 
remonstrate  with  him.  Pope  Alexander  had  meanwhile 
propitiated  Ferdinand  by  granting  him  two-ninths  of 
the  tithes  throughout  the  kingdom  of  Castile,  by  pro- 
mulgating bulls  of  crusade  through  Spain,  granting 
one-tenth  of  the  ecclesiastical  revenues  to  be  used  in 
the  protection  of  the  Holy  See,  and,  in  1494,  conferring 
on  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  in  imitation  of  the  title 
"  Most  Christian "  belonging  to  France,  the  title  of 
Catholic,  in  recognition  of  their  eminent  virtues,  their 
zeal  in  defence  of  the  apostolic  faith,  their  reformation 


Tin    League  of  Venice. 


321 


of  conventual  discipline,  their  subjugation  of  the 
Moors,  and  their  purification  of  the  kingdom  from  the 
pollution  of  the  Jews.  Ferdinand  simultaneously,  cog- 
nizant of  the  peril  to  his  Sicilian  dominions  arising 
from  the  occupation  of  Naples  by  the  French,  sent  a 
fleet  over  to  the  viceroy  of  Sicily  and  entrusted  the  land 
forces  which  were  to  co-operate  with  them  to  Gonsalvo 
de  Cordova,  well  known  as  the  Great  Captain. 

Charies,  instead  of  complying  with  the  representa- 
tions of  the  new  embassy  to  abandon  his  scandalous 
enterprise  against  a  feoff  of  the  pope,  cried  out  that 
Ferdinand's  conduct  was  perfidious,  that  he  had  delib- 
erately endeavored  to  circumvent  him  by  introducing 
into  the  treaty  the  clause  about  the  pope,  and  that  it 
would  be  time  enough  to  talk  of  the  rights  of  Naples 
when  he  had  possession  of  it. 

Charies  made  a  solemn  entry  into  Naples,  in  February, 
1495,  jauntily  assumed  the  title  of  King  of  Jerusalem 
and  Sicily,  and  affected  the  state  and  authority  of  em- 
peror. Satisfied  with  this,  and  overcome  like  Hannibal 
by  the  efifeminate  pleasures  of  the  sunny  and  voluptu- 
ous Campo  Felice,  he  abandoned  his  Quixotic  crusade 
against  Constantinople  and  wasted  his  time  in  frivolous 

amusements. 

Alarmed  at  the  progress  of  Charies,  Austria,  Rome. 
Milan,  Venice,  and  Spain  formed,  in  1495,  the  celebrated 
league  of  Venice  —  the  first  of  the  multifold  coalitions 
and  combinations  for  mutual  defence  in  Europe  — 
whose  design  was  to  break  and  overthrow  the  power  of 
the  now  frightened  "  king  of  Jerusalem." 

We  have  thus  briefly  indicated  the  causes  of  this  war, 
but  it  will  be  impossible  for  us  to  follow  its  incidents  in 


._ii-  wtxws^ta^NaaEaB 


322  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 


detail.  The  licentiousness  and  indolence  of  Charles 
disgusted  his  people,  alienated  his  allies,  and  helped  his 
enemies ;  he  plundered  Naples  of  her  precious  antiques, 
sculptured  marble  and  alabaster,  curiously  wrought  gates 
of  bronze,  and  rare  architectural  ornaments  ;  he  utterly 
failed  in  his  absurd  assumption  of  universal  sovereignty 
at  his  pretended  coronation  in  Naples,  May  12th;  he 
recrossed  the  mountains  in  October,  1495  }  ^"^  ^^^ 
memorable  expedition,  crowned  at  first  by  complete 
success,  left  no  permanent  result  except  a  legacy  of 
disastrous  and  interminable  wars.  Gilbert  de  Bourbon, 
Due  de  Montpensier,  old  Brantome's  "grand  chevalier 
sans  reproche,"  was  left  behind  as  viceroy  of  Naples, 
—  no  peer  of  the  illustrious  Gonsalvo  de  Cordova,  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  Spanish  forces. 

Born  at  Montilla  in  1453,  Gonsalvo  de  Cordova  grew 
up  in  the  tumult  of  the  Moorish  and  insurrectionary 
wars.  The  polish  and  distinction  of  his  manners,  the 
beauty  of  his  brilliant  countenance  and  chestnut  hair, 
the  magnificence  of  his  dress  and  style,  his  matchless 
gallantr}%  the  splendor  and  ostentatiousness  of  his 
armor  —  his  proficiency  in  every  knightly  accomplish- 
ment winning  for  him  the  name  of  "El  principe  de  los 
caballeros,"  the  "prince  of  cavaliers"  —  the  long  line  of 
his  eminent  and  distinguished  services  in  the  Portu- 
guese and  Granada  wars,  his  chivalrous  regard  for 
women,  his  prudence,  dexterity,  and  fertility  of  resource, 
all  recommended  him  to  Isabella  not  only  as  an  unsur- 
passed social  favorite  and  politician,  but  as  the  person 
best  fitted  to  command  the  Italian  army.  He  was 
accordingly  invested  with  the  command  of  the  land 
forces,  and  arrived  at  Messina  in  May,  1495. 


Peace  with   Fra^we. 


323 


The  glory  of  having  in  twelve  months,  with  the  most 
limited  resources,  defeated  the  bravest  and  best  disci- 
plined army  in    Europe,   commanded  by  Montpensier 
and  d'  Aubigny,  won  for  Gonsalvo,  when  he  had  reached 
Atella  in  his  march  of  conquest,  the  title  of  the  Great 
Captain      An  honorable  and  glorious  reception  awaited 
him  when,  after  succoring  the   pope  by  expelling   the 
French  from  Ostia,  he  was  complimented  by  the  desig- 
nation  of    "  Deliverer  of    Rome,"    presented  with   the 
golden  rose,  and,  on  passing  over  into  Spain,  in   1498, 
sumptuously    entertained   and    welcomed    by  his    sov- 
ereigns     Frederic  II.  -  the  sixth  king  who  during  the 
three  years  previous  had  occupied  the  disastrous  throne 
of  Naples  —  endowed  him  with  the  title  of  Duke  of  St. 
An-elo  and  an  estate  containing  three  thousand  vassals. 
Peace  with  France,  after  some  hostilities  in  Roussillon, 
ensued  after  the  luckless  issue  of  the  Calabrian  cam- 
paio-ns  so  well  manoeuvred  and  consummated  by  Gon- 
salvo. '    The    treaty   was    signed,    after   the    death    of 
Charles  VIII.,  at  Marcoussis,  in  August,  1498- 

The  vigor,  sagacity,  and  subtle  diplomatic  gifts  of  the 
Spanish  king  in  the  conduct  of  this  war,  his  devout 
attitude  throughout  the  hostilities  as  a  champion  of  the 
church,  and  his  promptness  in  meeting  extraordinary 
emergencies,  gained  him  a  European  reputation  ;  while 
the  educational  advantages  of  the  campaign  to  the 
Spanish  soldiers,  their  dwelling  for  so  long  in  a  new 
world,  their  acquisition  of  useful  lessons  in  tactics,  the 
more  thorough  organization  of  a  disciplined  militia, 
resulting  from  observation  of,  and  contact  with,  foreign 
powers,  cannot  be  overestimated. 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella  had  five  children ;  one  son 
Juan,    (June    30,    1478)    and    four   daughters  -  Isabel 


324  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 

(1470),    Juana    (1479),    Maria    (1482),    and    Catharine 
(1485).     None  of  them  were  distinguished  by  the  keen 
intellect  of  their  mother,  but  all  were  carefully  educated 
and    made   powerful    alliances.     Prince   Juan    married 
Margaret,  daughter  of  the    Emperor   Maximilian  ;  and 
Maximilian's    son,   the    archduke    Philip,  sovereign    of 
the  Low  Countries  in  his  mother's  right,  married  Juana 
(Crazy  Jane),  second  daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella—  alliances,  opening  the  way  to   vast  vistas   and 
changes  in  European  diplomacy  and  geography.     Dona 
Catalina  became  conspicuous  in  English  history  by  her 
marriage  with  Arthur,  prince  of  Wales,  and  afterwards 
with  his  brother  Henry  VII I.     Isabella,  princess  of  the 
Asturias,   married  first   Alfonso,   the   heir  of  Portugal, 
and,  on  his  death,  the  noble  and  enlightened  Emanuel, 
king  of  Portugal,  on  whom  the  crown  had  devolved  at 
the  death  of  king  Joa  in  1495.     By  the  untimely  death 
of  Prince  Juan  without  heirs,  in  1497,  —  a  young  prince 
of  exalted  character  and  intelligence,  —  the  succession 
devolved  on  Isabella  of  Portugal,  who,  before  anything 
had  been  definitely  determined  concerning  her  succes- 
sion to  the  united  monarchies,  died  in    1498,  leaving 
one  son,  Miguel. 

Miguel,  however,  died  in  his  second  year,  when  the 
succession  devolved  on  "  Crazy  Jane  "  and  her  heirs. 

At  this  moment  two  brilliant  figures  meet  us  in  the 
thick  of  Spanish  history ;  one  distinguished  by  consum- 
mate talents  for  business,  by  charming  address,  by  great 
and  lofty  views,  by  pomp,  and  munificence,  by  propen- 
sities to  srallantr)',  and  by  encouragement  liberally  given 
to  learning  and  learned  men  ;  the  other,  austere,  ascetic, 
contemplative,  ingenious  in  the  rigor  of  his  fastings, 
prayers,  and  self-torment,  living  on  the  green  herbs  and 


Two  Brilliant   ligures. 


327 


running  waters,  exalted  by  self-mortificat.on  tU  he  f  anc.ed 
himself  in  communication  with  celestial  intelligences,  - 
haggard,  thin,  commanding -a   bitter-tongued   monk, 
versed  i^  the  fathers,  and  yet  carrying  beneath  his  mar- 
ble exterior  a  blazing  coal  of  passionate  and   unsus- 
pected  ambition.     Mendoza,    the   "  Grand    Cardinal 
and  "  third  king  of  Spain  "  as  he  was  called  formed  a 
complete  contrast  to  Ximenes.     The  sunlight,  the  joy- 
ousness,  the  spacious  and  genial  nature  of  the  one  was 
thrown  into  luminous  relief  by  the  shadowy  spirituality, 
the  lovelessness,  the  misanthropic  isolation  of  the  other. 
Mendoza,  archbishop  of  Toledo  and  primate  of  Spain, 
had   supreme  control  in  the  cabinet  for  twenty  years, 
and  returned   the  confidence  of   his   sovereigns   by  a 
course  thoroughly  in  harmony  with  their  own.     By  his 
death  in   1495,  the    see   became  vacant  and  was  pre- 
sented to  Francisco  Xim^ies  de  Cisneros,  a  Franciscan 
monk  of  low  birth,  the  queen's  confessor,  recommended 
to  her  by  the  dying  cardinal  for  his  rare  combination  of 

talent  and  virtue.  . 

At  first,  Ximenes  peremptorily  refused  the  dignity; 
he  was   devoted   to    meditation,    to    the    practices    of 
humility  and  piety,  to  a  sequestered  life  far  from  the 
vanities   and  vexations  of    the  world  ;  and   mo'-eovej, 
being  nearly  sixty   years  of  age,  he   could   hardly  be 
charged  with  hypocrisy  and  affectation  in  shunning  the 
commanding  responsibilities   of  so   exalted   a   station. 
He  yielded  at  length,  though  after  a  resistance  of  six 
months,  solely  to   the  bull  of   the  pope,  who   insisted 
upon  his  no  longer  declining  an  appointment  which  the 
church  had  sanctioned.     He  was  thus  almost  literally 
dragged  from  the  rigors  of  the  monastery  to  the  prim- 


828  Reign  of  Ferdlnmid  and  Isabella. 

acy  of  most  Catholic  Spain,  while  retaining  to  the  last 
his  simple  and  austere  manners,  his  large  charities,  his 
domestic  economy,  his  abstemious  diet,  and  the  coarse 
frock  of  St.  Francis  under  the  costly  silks  and  furs  of 
the  archbishop's  robes.  Schemes  of  reform  among  the 
monastic  orders,  in  defiance  of  the  clamors  and  outcries 
of  his  enemies,  were  effected  by  him  in  conjunction 
with  the  apostolic  nuncio.  Searching  examination  was 
made  into  the  conduct  and  morals  of  religious  institu- 
tions of  every  sort ;  the  sloth  and  sensuality  of  the  lower 
clergy  were  rigorously  punished ;  and  purity,  chastity, 
and  self-restraint,  long  unknown,  became  once  more  no 
extraordinary  virtues  among  the  ministers  of  religion. 


CHAPTER   XV. 


REIGN   OF    FERDINAND    AND    ISABELLA. 

[continued.] 

BUT  dazzling  as  were  the  sombre  gifts  of  Ximenes, 
glowing  as  he  was  with  holy  fervor  for  the  church, 
inflexible  to  the  point  of  enduring  in  his  youth  years  of 
imprisonment  rather  than  sacrifice  what  he  thought  the 
right,  he  signally  lacked  tact,  toleration,  and  ordinary 
human  charity.  This  he  showed  in  his  persecution  of 
the  unfortunate  Moors  of  Granada. 

At  first,  treated  strictly  within  the  letter  of  the  terms 
of  capitulation,  the  Granada  Moors  rejoiced  in  the  con- 
ciliatory policy,  the  kindly  temper,  and  the  benevolent 
measures  of  the  sovereigns  and  the  Christian  archbishop 
of  Granada.  Dissimilar  as  they  were  in  habits,  institu- 
tions, language,  and  religion  to  their  conquerors,  they 
could  not  at  once  abandon  their  most  sacred  associa- 
tions for  a  lying  conformity  with  Catholicism ;  but  the 
eloquence,  bounty,  and  goodness  of  the  archbishop, 
self-interest,  and  the  necessity  of  living,  brought  hun- 
dreds within  the  pale  of  the  church.  All  might  have 
gone  well,  had  not  Ximenes,  impatient  at  the  obduracy 
and  infidelity  of  some  of  the  prominent  Moors,  added 
terror,  imprisonment,  torture,  and   the  auto  de  fi  as 

329 


330  Reign  of  Ferdiyiand  and  Isabella, 

further  stimulants  to  a  happy  and  multitudinous  con- 
version. 

Reserving  three  hundred  works  devoted  to  medical 
science  for  his  contemplated  university  library  at  Alcala 
he   caused   thousands  of   exquisitely  executed   Arabic 
manuscripts,  connected  with  theology  and  scientific  sub- 
jects, to  be  burned  in  one  of  the  great  squares  of  the 
city.     He  exhausted  the  hitherto  marvellous  patience  of 
the  Moors  by  his  oppressions :  a  rebellion  broke  out  in 
the  Albaycin  — the  Moorish,  now  the  Gypsy  quarter  of 
Granada  — Ximenes  was  besieged  in  his  palace,  barely 
escaping  the  populace  ;  but  the  tumult  was  finally  stilled 
by  the  personal  influence  and  popularity  of  Talavera, 
archbishop  of  Granada.     Ximenes  rushed  to  court,  re- 
capitulated what  had  happened,  and  prevailed  on  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  to  send  commissioners  to  Granada  to 
investigate    the    late    disturbances.      As    a  result,  fifty 
thousand  persons  were  miraculously  *'  converted,"  and 
kept  the  fires  of  the  Inquisition  lighted  for  a  hundred 
years  ;  and  soon,  abjuring  their  ancient  superstition  and 
receiving  baptism,  they  lost  their  names  of  Moors  and 
came  gradually  to   be    denominated   Moriscoes.     Thus 
"  Ximenes   had    achieved   greater  triumphs  than    even 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  since  they  had  conquered  only 
the  soil,  while  he  had  gained  the  souls  of  Granada." 

This  strain  of  exultation,  indulged  in  by  the  good 
archbishop  Talavera,  was  soon  exchanged  for  one  of 
lamentation.  The  wild  regions  of  the  Alpujarras  — a 
multitudinous  system  of  sierras,  filled  with  a  fierce  and 
unregenerate  Moorish  population, — had  escaped  the 
baptismal  hyssop  of  Ximenes,  and  beheld  with  indigna- 
tion the  faithless  conduct  pursued  toward   their  com- 


AN    ANDALUblAN    BOLKKU    AND    HER    MOTHER. 


Cardinal  Ximenes, 


333 


patriots  below,  they  seized  the  fortresses  in  the  moun- 
tains, regarded  with  contempt  the  apostasy  of  Granada, 
and  began  their  work  of  extermination  on  the  Christian 
territories  adjacent.  Gonsalvo  de  Cordova  and  the 
count  of  Tendilla  undertook  to  bring  "  God's  enemies  " 
to  terms.  Alonzo  de  Aguilar,  eldest  brother  of  Gon- 
salvo de  Cordova,  was  sent  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Ronda,  the  centre  of  this  savage  insurrection ;  and  here 


Cardinal  Ximenes. 


took  place  the  appalling  defeat  and  death  of  Alonzo 
and  the  famous  engineer  Ramirez  de  Madrid,  rendered 
ever  memorable  by  the  exquisite  ballad,  — 


Rio  Verde,  Rio  Verde, 
Tinto  va  en  sangre  viva. 


334  Reign  of  Ferclinand  and  Isabella. 

The  dismal  news  of  the  defeat  made  an  incredible 
sensation.  Measures  of  great  vigor  were  instantly  taken 
to  crush  the  accursed  infidel  and  no  great  time  passed 
before,  seeing  the  hopelessness  of  their  cause,  the 
Moriscoes  sent  in  deputies  deprecating  the  king's  anger 
and  suing  for  pardon.  Conversion  or  banishment  was 
the  answer. 

The  stor\-  of  tae  Rio  Verde  —  infinitely  sad  and 
tragical  as  it  was  —  lingered  for  ages  in  the  memories 
of  the  Spaniards,  and  gave  birth  to  a  group  of  tender 
commemorative  ballads  unsurpassed  for  their  sweet  and 
musical  melancholy.  And  well  has  it  been  said  that 
the  embalming  touch  of  this  beautiful  minstrelsy  has 
made  the  sombre  episode  more  enduring  than  the 
most  elaborate  chronicles  of  carefully  compiled  history. 

Fernando,  king  of  Aragon,  before  Granada  lies, 
With  dukes  and  barons  many  a  one,  and  champions  of  emprize  ; 
With  all  the  captains  of  Castile  that  serve  his  lady's  crown. 
He  drives  Boabdil  from  his  gates,  and  plucks  the  crescent  down. 

The  cross  is  reared  upon  the  towers  for  our  Redeemer's  sake ; 
The  king  assembles  all  his  powers,  his  triumph  to  partake, 
Yet  at  the  royal  banquet  there's  trouble  in  his  eye  — 
"  Now  speak  thy  wish,  it  shall  be  done,  great  king,"  the  lordlings 
cry. 

Then  spake  Fernando,  "  Hear,  grandees !  which  of  ye  all  will  go. 

And  give  my  banner  in  tiie  breeze  of  Alpuxar  to  blow.? 

Those  heights  along,  the  Moors  are  strong;  now  who,  by  dawn  of 

day. 
Will   plant    the   cross   their  cliffs    among,   and   drive   the    dogs 


away 


>> 


Then  champion  on  champion  high,  and  count  on  count  doth  look  ; 
And  faltering  is  the  tongue  of  lord,  and  pale  the  cheek  of  duke ; 
Till  starts  up  brave  Alonzo,  the  knight  of  Aguilar, 
The  lowrnost  at  the  royal  board,  but  foremost  still  in  war. 


Alonzo,  the  Knight  of  Aguilar. 


335 


And  thus  he  speaks :  "  I  pray,  my  lord,  that  none  but  I  ma)  go  , 
For  I  made  promise  to  the  Queen,  your  consort,  long  ago, 
Tha   e-   "  should  have  an  end,  I,  for  her  royal  charms, 
Ind  for  my  duty  to  her  grace,  would  show  some  feat  of  arms.    - 

Much  joyed  the   king   these  words  to   hear -he  bids   Alonzo 

•  And  lon'g  btf7re  their  revel 's  o'er,  the  knight  is  on  his  steed ^ 

A  onzo'f  on  his  milk-white  steed,  ^^^  ^--"^,,'  ^^^^^ 
A  thousand  horse,  a  chosen  band,  ere  dawn  the  hills  to  gam. 

Thev  ride  along  the  darkling  ways,  they  gallop  at  the  night ; 
Thev    each  Nevado  ere  the  cock  hath  harbingered  the   ight, 
B?ere   ive  climbed  that  steep  ravine,  the  east  -^  go -^^^^ 
And  the  Moors  their  lances  bright  have  seen,  and  Christian  ban 

ners  spread. 
Beyond  the  sands,  between  the  rocks,  where  the  old  cork  trees 

The  paThTsVough,  and  monnted  n,en  must  singly  march  and  slow  ; 
rter    o'e    the  path  the  heathen  range  their  ambuscade's  hne, 
High  up  they  wait  for  Aguilar.  as  the  day  begms  to  shu,e. 

There' nought  avails  the  eagle-eye,  the  guardian  of  Castile 
The  Le  of  wisdom,  nor  the  heart  that  fear  m.ght  never  feel, 
The  arm  of  Tength  that  wielded  well  the  strong  mace  „.  the  fray 
Nor  thrbrold  pLe,  from  whence  the  edge  of  falch.on  glanced 

away. 

Down -down  like  driving  hail  they  come,  and  horse  and  horse- 

Like  ca^,  those  despair  is  dumb  when  the  fierce  lightnings  fiy. 

Alonzo,  with  a  handful  more,  escapes  into  ^e  field. 
There  like  a  lion  stands  at  bay,  in  vam  besought  to  yield , 
I  th  u'a^d  foes  around  are  seen,  but  none  d-;-- '^f  S" " 
Afar  with  bolt  and  javelin  they  pierce  the  steadfast  kmght. 


836         Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

A  hundred  and  a  hundred  darts  are  hissing  round  his  head ; 
Had  Aguilar  a  thousand  hearts,  their  blood  had  all  been  shed ; 
Faint  and  more  faint  he  staggers,  upon  the  slippery  sod, 
At  last  his  back  is  to  the  earth,  he  gives  his  soul  to  God. 

With  that  the  Moors  plucked  up  their  hearts  to  gaze  upon  his  face, 
And  caitiff's  mangled  where  he  lay  the  scourge  of  Afric's  race ; 
To  woody  Oxijera  then  the  gallant  corpse  they  drew. 
And  there  upon  the  village-green  they  laid  him  out  to  view. 

Upon  the  village-green  he  lay  as  the  moon  was  shining  clear, 
And  all  the  village  damsels  to  look  on  him  drew  near; 
They  stood  around  him  all  a-gaze,  beside  the  big  oak  tree 
And  much  his  beauty  they  did  praise,  though  mangled  sore  was  he. 

Now,  so  it  fell,  a  Christian  dame  that  knew  Alonzo  well, 
Not  far  from  Oxijera  did  as  a  captive  dwell. 
And  hearing  all  the  marvels,  across  the  woods  came  she, 
To  look  upon  this  Christian  corpse,  and  wash  it  decently. 

She  looked  upon  him,  and  she  knew  the  face  of  Aguilar, 
Although  his  beauty  was  disgraced  with  many  a  ghastly  scar. 
She  knew  him,  and  she  cursed  the  dogs  that  pierced  him  from  afar. 
And  mangled  him  when  he  was  slain  — the  Moors  of  Alpuxar. 

The  Moorish  maidens,  while  she  spake,  around  her  silence  kept. 
But  her  master  dragged  the  dame  away  —  then  loud  and  long  they 
wept; 

They  washed  the  blood,  with  many  a  tear,  from  dint  of  dart  and 

arrow. 
And  buried  him  near  the  waters  clear  of  the  brook  of  Alpuxarra. 

After  this  brief  and  furious  storm,  profound  tran- 
quillity visited  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  kingdom 
of  Granada.  An  edict  was  published  in  1501,  which 
prohibited  intercourse  between  obdurate  Mahometans 
and  the  orthodox  (.?)  kingdom  of  Granada,  followed  by 
another  in  1502,  closely  modelled  after  that  against  the 


>'  II 


THE  GENERALiFE.  (GRANADA.) 


Italian  WarB. 


339 


Tews,  baptizing  or  banishing  all  Moors  twelve  and  four- 
teen years  of  age.  Penalties  of  death  and  confiscation 
were  affixed  if  any  carried  gold  or  silver  out  of  the 
country  or  emigrated  to  the  dominions  of  the  Grand 
Turk  or  to  hostile  parts  of  Africa. 

Thus  a  dominion  eight  hundred  years  old  was  over- 
thrown in  twenty  years. 

At  this  point  in  our  narrative  we  are  again  confronted 
with  the  Italian  wars  which,  far  from  being  put  to  ever- 
Tasting  sleep  as  they  deserved  to  be,  by  the  death  o 
Charles  VIII.,  broke  out  afresh  on  the  accession  of  his 

miccessor,  Louis  Xii.  .  .         . 

m  November,  .500,  took  place  the  equal  partition  of 
the  kingdom  of  Naples  between  France  and  Spam. 
Frederic  II.  was  excluded  as  having  called  m  the  assis- 
tance of  the  Turks,,  bitter  enemies  of  Christianit>'. 
Apulia  and  Calabria  in  the  south,  fell  to  Spain ;  Lavoro 
and  Abruzzo  in  the  north,  fell  to  France. 

Ferdinand  tried  to  justify  his  part  of  this  astoundmg 
proceeding  by  laying  emphasis  on  the   illegitimacy  of 
L  branch  of  the  Aragonese  house  to  whom  Alfonso 
his  uncle,  had  left  the  kingdom,  and  the  necessity  of 
bringing  these  important  possessions  agam  wrthin  the 
control  of  the  legitimate  branch.     Kept  "S'dly  seer  t 
for  a  while,  the  terms  of  the  treaty  became  known  to 
Alexander  Vl.  as  soon  as  the  Sire  d'Aubigny  crossed 
the  papal  borders  at  the  head  of  the  French  army.     He 
confiriLd  the  partition,  and  in  July  the  French  entered 
the  Neapolitan  frontier. 

It  was  soon  seen,  however,  that  the  pretensions  of  the 
two  parties  to  the  partition    were  irreconcilable.     The 


■ 


340  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

central  portion,  between  the  southern  and  northern  por- 
tions, embracing  the  Capitanate,  the  Basilicate,  and 
Principality,  formed  a  debatable  ground  not  mentioned 
in  the  treaty,  which  soon  brought  both  kings  to  an  open 
rupture.  The  French  began  hostilities,  and  soon  the 
war  raged  unequivocally  on  both  sides. 

^  Gonsalvo  triumphed.  D'Aubigny,  with  the  wreck  of 
his  forces  surrendered ;  Naples  was  entered  with  pomp 
by  the  great  captain.  May  14,  1503;  and  every  consid- 
erable place  in  the  kingdom  except  Gaeta  tendered  its 
submission. 

During  the  progress  of  the  war  Charles  V.,  son  of 
Philip  I.   of  the    Netherlands  and  Juana,  daughter  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  was  born  in  Ghent,  February 
24,   1500  — an  event  of  moment,  as,   by  the  death  of 
Prince    Miguel,    Charles    was    now  heir  of  the   united 
monarchies  of  Castile,  Aragon,  Sicily,  Naples,  and  the 
Netherlands,  and  on  the  death  of  his  father,  Philip  the 
Pfandsome,  he  was  to  become  emperor    of  Germany. 
Philip  I.  abhorred  the  punctilious  Spaniards  and  shortly 
after  the   ceremony  of    his    son's    recognition    by  the 
Cortes,  the  archduke,  despite  the  critical  condition  of 
his    queen,  whom  he    intended  to   leave  in  Spain,  an- 
nounced his  intention  of  an   immediate  return  to  the 
Netherlands,  which  he  carried  out  by  traversing  France. 
At  this  point,  Juana,  approaching  the  period  of  the 
birth  of  her  second  son,  Ferdinand  (March  10,  1503), 
began   to    show  symptoms   of    the    eccentricity   which 
afterwards  developed  into  the  most  fantastic  aberration. 
Despondency  at  the  absence  of  the  gay  and  sparkling 
Philip,  seized   her,  and  she  refused    to  be  comforted. 
Insanity  was  hereditary  in   the  family ;  it  had  tainted 


Contrasted   Civilization. 


341 


the  intellect  of  Isabella's  mother,  it  took  the  form  of 
religious  enthusiasm  in  several  of  Isabella's  daughters, 
it  sent  Charles,  her  grandson,  to  the  cloister,  made  a 
gloomy  bigot  of  his  son,  Philip  IL,  and  probably  urged 
the  wretched  Don  Carlos,  son  of  Philip,  to  an  igno- 
minious death. 

The  French  invasion  of  Spain  by  way  of  Roussillon 
in  1503,  proved  utterly  futile. 

Here  the  philosophic  historian  pauses  to  recount  the 
strange  contrast  presented  by  the  civilization  of  Italy 
and  the  utter  wretchedness  contemporary  with  it.     The 
golden  age  of  ftalian  literature,  architecture,  and  art 
was  at  hand ;    Florence,  Venice,  and    Rome  were  the 
busy   scene    of    an   intellectual    and   aesthetic    activity 
which  threw  its   conceptions  into  the  most   sumptuous 
forms.     Palaces,  paintings,  poems   innumerable,  came 
flowing  in  a  rich  stream  from  the  fingers  of  artist,  archi- 
tect,   and   poet.     Luxurious    refinement   pervaded   the 
upper   classes    of    society.     The   revival    of    classical 
learning  after  the  conquest  of  Constantinople  in  1453, 
spread  a  general  and  eloquent  enthusiasm  for  the  mas- 
terpieces of  Greek  art  and  Roman  antiquity.     A  splen- 
did assemblage  of  genius  graced  the  petty  courts  of 
Italy.     At   a   period   nearly   contemporary   with    this, 
Ariosto  was  singing  his  immortal   song  ;  Rafaelle  was 
blazoning  the  walls  of  the  Vatican  with  incomparable 
frescoes  ;  Michael  Angelo  was  rearing  his  mighty  dome  ; 
Leonardo  with  exhaustless  versatility  was  scattering  his 
powers  over   the  varied   fields  of   music,  engineering, 
painting,  and  geology  ;  and  Machiavelli  began  to  pub- 
lish, through  his  Prince,  those  subtle  and  insidious  po 
litical  maxims  which  became  incarnate  in  the  princes  of 


342         Tleign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 


his  native   land  and   totally  excluded  politics  from  the 
range  of  the  the  moral  sciences. 

With  all  this  beauteous  outburst  of  human  genius 
and  intelligence  was  associated,  as  in  dismal  and  endless 
undertone,  the  ghastly  threnody  of  the  Italian  wars. 
Pitiless  fury,  debased  patriotic  sentiment,  cruelty  not  to 
be  described,  a  bestialized  papacy,  butchery,  bloodshed, 
and  the  upas-shadow  of  the  Inquisition,  distinguished 


ISABELLA   DICTATINCx    HER   WILL. 

these  fantastic  times  equally  with  exquisite  culture,  love 
of  art,  and  consummate  civilization. 

The  success  of  the  Spaniards  in  Italy  (1504)  was  due 
to  the  innovations  in  their  arms  introduced  by  Gonsalvo, 
the  obedience  and  subordination  of  the  soldiery,  and 
the  invincible  energy  of  the  great  captain  himself. 
With  an  absurdly  small  force  he  annihilated  the  gener- 


.Death  of  Isabella. 


343 


als  and  armies  of  France,  conquered  the  kingdom  of 
Naples,  and  educated  his  troops  to  a  system  of  tactics 
and  military  mining  —  brought  by  him  to  unprece- 
dented perfection  in  the  course  of  the  war— which  after- 
wards made  the  Spanish  troops  the  finest  in  Europe. 

On  November  26,  1504,  died  the  ever-glorious  and 
memorable  Isabella  I.,  in  the  fifty-fourth  year  of  her 
age,  and  thirtieth  of  her  reign.  To  say  that  she  was 
loved  and  lamented  by  her  people,  would  be  hardly 
describing  the  adoration  they  paid  her  —  their  mother, 
their  friend,  their  queen,  their  protector.  Universal 
homage  was  paid  to  her  virtues.  Her  grace,  tact,  and 
courage,  the  sweetness  and  symmetry  of  her  features,  her 
abstemiousness,  piety,  and  abhorrence  of  ostentation: 
her  bigotry,  excused  and  softened  by  the  tenor  of  the 
times,  her  unbending  principle,  hatred  of  duplicity,  prac- 
tical good  sense,  and  tender  sensibility;  her  distaste 
for  extravagance  in  dress,  her  skilful  selection  of  agents 
to  accomplish  her  plans,  her  contempt  of  physical  pain 
and  fatigue,  and  her  benevolence,  first  among  the  sov- 
ereigns of  Europe  to  institute  camp  hospitals  for  the 
help  of  her  poor  sick  soldiers;  the  remembrance  of  all 
this  threw  a  halo  around  her  memory. 

By  her  will,  executed  October  12,  1504,  she  left  the 
crown  of  Castile  to  the  Infanta  Juana  as  "queen  pro- 
prietor," and  the  archduke  Philip,  her  husband.  In  the 
absence  or  incapacity,  of  Juana,  Ferdinand  was  ap- 
pointed sole  regent  of  Castile  until  the  majority  of  her 
grandson,  Charles.  The  king  and  Ximenes  were  the 
chief  executors.  She  left  also  specific  directions  as  to 
the  codification  of  the  laws,  injunctions  characterized 
by  the  utmost  tenderness  concerning  the  conversion, 


342         Uelgn  of  Ferdlnancl  and  Isabella. 


Death  of  Isabella. 


348 


his  native   land  and   totally  excluded  politics  from  the 
range  of  the  the  moral  sciences. 

With  all  this  beauteous  outburst  of  human  genius 
and  intelligence  was  associated,  as  in  dismal  and  endless 
undertone,  the  ghastly  threnody  of  the  Italian  wars. 
Pitiless  fury,  debased  patriotic  sentiment,  cruelty  not  to 
be  described,  a  bestialized  papacy,  butchery,  bloodshed, 
and  the  upas-shadow  of  the  Inquisition,  distinguished 


ISABELLA    DICTATING    HER   WILL. 

these  fantastic  times  equally  with  exquisite  culture,  love 
of  art,  and  consummate  civilization. 

The  success  of  the  Spaniards  in  Italy  (1504)  was  due 
to  the  innovations  in  their  arms  introduced  by  Gonsalvo, 
the  obedience  and  subordination  of  the  soldiery,  and 
the  invincible  energy  of  the  great  captain  himself. 
With  an  absurdly  small  force  he  annihilated  the  gener- 


als and  armies  of  France,  conquered  the  kingdom  of 
Naples,  and  educated  his  troops  to  a  system  of  tactics 
and  military  mining —  brought  by  him  to  unprece- 
dented perfection  in  the  course  of  the  war— which  after- 
wards made  the  Spanish  troops  the  finest  in  Europe. 

On  November  26,   1504,  died  the  ever-glorious  and 
memorable  Isabella  I.,  in  the  fifty-fourth  year  of  her 
age,  and  thirtieth  of  her  reign.     To  say  that  she  was 
loved  and  lamented  by  her  people,  would   be   hardly 
describing  the  adoration  they  paid  her  —  their  mother, 
their  friend,  their  queen,  their   protector.      Universal 
homage  was  paid  to  her  virtues.     Her  grace,  tact,  and 
courage,  the  sweetness  and  symmetry  of  her  features,  her 
abstemiousness,  piety,  and  abhorrence  of  ostentation: 
her  bigotry,  excused  and  softened  by  the  tenor  of  the 
times,  her  unbending  principle,  hatred  of  duplicity,  prac- 
tical good  sense,   and  tender   sensibility;  her  distaste 
for  extravagance  in  dress,  her  skilful  selection  of  agents 
to  accomplish  her  plans,  her  contempt  of  physical  pain 
and  fatigue,  and  her  benevolence,  first  among  the  sov- 
ereigns of  Europe   to  institute   camp  hospitals  for  the 
help  of  her  poor  sick  soldiers;  the  remembrance  of  all 
this  threw  a  halo  around  her  memory. 

By  her  will,  executed  October  12,  1504,  she  left  the 
crown  of  Castile  to  the  Infanta  Juana  as  "  queen  pro- 
prietor," and  the  archduke  Philip,  her  husband.  In  the 
absence  or  incapacity,  of  Juana,  Ferdinand  was  ap- 
pointed sole  regent  of  Castile  until  the  majority  of  her 
grandson,  Charles.  The  king  and  Ximenes  were  the 
chief  executors.  She  left  also  specilic  directions  as  to 
the  codification  of  the  laws,  injunctions  characterized 
by  the  utmost  tenderness  concerning  the  conversion, 


!1 


1 .1 


*l 


'V.-B 


344  Reign  of  Ferdinatid  and  Isabella. 

civilizing,  and  gentle  treatment  of  the  Indians  of  the 
New  World,  and  commands  that  the  sources  of  the 
crown  income  derived  from  the  Alcavalas  'should  be 
investigated  and  put  upon  a  pure  and  correct  basis. 

Ferdinand   having   resigned    the    crown   of    Castile, 
which  he  had  so  successfully  held  for  thirty  years,  as- 
sumed the  title  of  administrator  or  governor  of  Castile. 
The  cortes  and  grandees  acknowledged  Juana  as  queen 
and    lady   proprietor;    but    in    consideration    of    her 
mental  state,  tendered  their   homage  to  Ferdinand  in 
her   name,   as  the  lawful  governor   of   the   realm.     A 
season  of  uneasiness  and  perplexity  ensued,  owing  to 
the  pretensions  of  Philip,  who  wrote  requiring  his  father- 
in-law,  to  resign  the  government  at  once,  and  retire  to 
Aragon.     Philip  attempted  to  tamper  with  Gonsalvo  de 
Cordova  in  the  endeavor  to  secure  Naples.     Ferdinand, 
at  his  wit's  end  owing  to  his  growing  unpopularity  and 
the  discontent  of  the  grandees,  who  had  always  looked 
upon  him  as  an  alien  and  interloper,  resolved  to  seek  the 
alliance  of  France  by  a  marriage  with  Germaine,  niece 
of  Louis  XII.,  which  was  confirmed  by  the  disgraceful 
treaty  of  Blois  in  1505.     If  he  had  male  issue,  Aragon 
and  its  dependencies  must  be  totally  severed  from  Castile. 
If  he  did  not,  he  was  to  share  the  splendid  Italian  con- 
quests with  his  unsuccessful  competitor  in  these  con- 
quests.     An    arrangement    so    incompatible   with    the 
customary  sagacity  of   the  Catholic    king   roused    the 
ridicule  and  astonishment  of  Europe. 

By  the  concord  of  Salamanca  in  November,  1505, 
made  between  Philip  and  Ferdinand,  Castile  was  to  be 
governed  jointly  by  Ferdinand,  Philip,  and  Juana— an 
arrangement  intended  by  Philip  to  lull  the  suspicions 


Marriage  of  Ferdinand  and  G-ermaine.     345 

of  his  father-in-law  until  he  could  effect  a  landing  in 
Spain,  when  he  meant  to  take  matters  into  his  own 
hands. 

In  1506,  Ferdinand  married  the  volatile  Germaine,  and 
in  the  same  year  Philip  and  Juana  arrived  at  Coruna, 
after  their  embarkation  from  the  Netherlands.  The 
personal  beauty,  generosity,  and  openness  of  disposi- 
tion peculiar  to  the  archduke,  soon  won  for  him  a  num- 
erous and  powerful  'following.  Though  Ferdinand  re- 
ceived him  courteously,  he  soon  saw  the  hopelessness 
of  a  conflict  with  so  general  a  favorite,  and  on  the  27th 
of  June,  resigned  the  entire  sovereignty  of  Castile  to 
Philip  and  jfuana,  reserving  to  himself  only  the  grand- 
masterships  of  the  military  orders  and  the  revenues  left 
him  by  Isabella's  testament.  With  monstrous  dissimu- 
lation he  protested  in  private  that  this  concession  was 
wrung  from  him  by  force,  and  that  he  should  take  the 
first  opportunity  in  spite  of  his  solemn  oath,  of  recov- 
ering his  imagined  possessions  and  releasing  his  daugh- 
ter from  what  he  called  her  captivity. 

Between  1504  and  1506  occurred  the  last  voyage, 
illness,  and  death  of  the  illustrious  Columbus. 

Philip,  after  a  short  and  inglorious  reign,  character- 
ized by  reckless  extravagance,  gross  favoritism  toward 
his  Flemish  courtiers,  and  arbitrary  government,  died 
suddenly  in  1506  while  Ferdinand  was  on  his  way  to 
Naples.  In  1507  Ferdinand  returned  to  Spain  and  was 
greeted  with  universal  satisfaction ;  and  as  the  condi- 
tion of  Juana  —  wild,  haggard,  emaciated,  and  squalid 
as  she  was,  refusing  peremptorily  ever  to  sign  a  state- 
paper  and,  lingering,  in  the  end,  for  forty-seven  years, 
without  ever  quitting  her  palace  at  Tordesillas  —  seemed 


J 


t 


346  Reign  of  Ferdinayid  and  Isabella 

SO  desperate,  Ferdinand  began  to  exercise  an  authority 
nearly  as  undisputed  as,  and  far  less  clearly  defined 
than,  during  the  life-time  of  his  noble  consort.  "  Crazy 
Jane,"  as  she  was  now  called,  remained  plunged  in  pro- 
found melancholy  j  she  would  not  let  the  remains  of 
Philip  be  buried  ;  she  journeyed  by  night,  saying  "  that 
a  widow,  who  had  lost  the  sun  of  her  own  soul,  should 
never  expose  herself  to  the  light  of  day;"  she  had  con- 
tinual funeral  ceremonies  perfoumed  wherever  she 
halted ;  and  jealously  excluded  every  female  from  even 
approaching  the  perambulating  corpse.  Her  grotesque 
horror,  on  once  discovering  that  Philip's  remains  had 
been  deposited  in  a  nunnery,  is  more  easity  conceived 
than  pictured  in  words.  Gleams  of  intelligence  visited 
her  every  now  and  then,  nor  does  she  seem  by  any  means 
to  have  been  so  absolutely  incapable  as  is  usually  said. 
Ximenes,  who  had  lately  received  a  cardinal's  hat 
from  Julius  II.  and  had  succeeded  Deza  as  inquisitor- 
general  of  Castile,  now  conceived  a  bold  and  extraor- 
dinary enterprise.  This  was  no  less  than  the  capture 
of  the  opulent  city  of  Oran,  on  the  African  coast  —  an 
enterprise  led,  equipped,  and  achieved  by  himself  per- 
sonally out  of  his  own  revenues  as  primate  of  Spain. 
This  was  in  1509.  His  genius  overcame  the  almost  in- 
superable obstacles  put  in  his  way  by  the  jealousy  of 
the  nobles,  the  coolness  of  the  king,  and  the  magnitude 
of  the  preparations  necessary  to  equip  his  ten  thousand 
foot,  four  thousand  horse,  and  eighty  galleys  ;  while  "  a 
monk  fighting  the  battles  of  Spain,  whereas  the  great 
captain  was  left  to  stay  at  home,  and  count  his  beads 
like  a  hermit,"  gave  rise  to  sneers.  The  troops,  how- 
ever, after  an  impassioned  harangue  from  the  primate. 


■fl 


■ii 


11 


GATE  OF  THE  SALA  DE  JUSTICIA.  (ALHAiMBRA. 


Cardinal  Ximenes. 


349 


rushed  to  victory,  shouting  "  Santiago  and  Ximenes," 
while  superstition  said  that  the  stupendous  miracle  of 
Joshua  staying  the  sun  in  its  course,  was  repeated  for 
the  venerable  archbishop. 

Perhaps  the  illustrious  prelate's  chief  claim  to  recog- 
nition, however,  lies  in  his  founding  the  university  of 
Alcala  and  his  Polyglot  translation  of  the  bible.  The 
university  was  founded  with  solemn  ceremonies  in  1500 
and  grew  up  a  beautiful  mass  of  picturesque  and  ele- 
gant architecture,  furnished  completely  with  everything 
requisite  for  the  comfort  and  accommodation  of  a  vast 
number  of  students.  The  famous  Complutensian  Poly- 
glot, entrusted  to  nine  scholars  renowned  for  skill  and 
erudition  in  the  ancient  tongues,  was  fifteen  years  exe- 
cuting, being  finished  in  1517,  after  great  difficulties  in 
printing,  and  by  the  aid  of  artists  imported  from  Ger- 
many. Nearly  four  centuries  after  it  was  found  that 
the  precious  manuscripts  used  in  the  translation  had  all 
been  disposed  of  to  a  rocket-maker  of  Alcala  who  soon 
used  them  up  as  waste  paper. 

On  October  4,  15 11,  the  Holy  League  was  formed 
between  Ferdinand,  Julius  II.  and  Venice  (afterwards 
joined  by  Henry  VIII.  of  England)  with  the  object  of 
driving  the  French  out  of  Italy.  In  this  the  Spaniards 
were  again  victorious.  In  15 12,  Navarre,  which,  allied 
with  France,  had  refused  the  passage  of  some  English 
troops  coming  to  co-operate  with  Ferdinand  in  his  de- 
scent on  Guienne,  was  reduced  to  submission  by  the 
duke  of  Alva,  grandfather  of  him  of  the  Netherlands. 
Jean  d'Albret,  its  letters-loving  and  amiable  sovereign, 
took  refuge  in  France.  A  truce  in  15 13,  put  an  end  to 
the  wars  in  the  territories  west  of   the  Alps,  for  two 


o 


50  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 


years,  during  which  Navarre,  by  solemn  act  of  cortes 
was  incorporated  (15 15),  with  the  kingdom  of  Castile, 
rather  than  with  the  more  intimately  connected  and 
contiguous  Aragon.  Whether  regarded  as  an  unblushing 
usurpation,  a  measure  of  expediency,  or  as  the  restor- 
ation of  its  ancient  liistorical  union  with  Castile,  the 
conquest  of  Navarre,  with  the  general  levelling  of  its 
fortresses  and  fortified  places  ended  forever  the  exis- 
tence of  an  independent  and  aggressive  monarchy  in 
the  heart  of  the  great  political  net-work  of  Spain. 

The  "Gran  Capitan,"  now  distrusted  by  Ferdinand, 
became  morbid,  irritable,  and  melancholy,  and  finally, 
consumed  by  inward  fever  and  infirmities,  breathed  his 
last  at  his  palace  in  Granada,  December,  15 15. 

On  the  morning  of  January  23,  15 16,  Ferdinand  him- 
self, yielding  to  a  distressing  heart  disease,  died  in  a 
small  house  belonging  to  the  friars  of  Guadaloupe.  "In 
so  wretched  a  tenement  did  this  lord  of  so  many  lands 
close  his  eyes  upon  the  world  ! "  exclaimed  the  pious 
Peter  Martyr. 

By  his  will  he  settled  the  succession  of  Aragon  and 
Naples  on  Juana  and  her  heirs.  Ximenes  was  entrusted 
with  the  administration  of  Castile  during  Charles's  ab- 
sence in  the  Netherlands,  and  Aragon  to  the  king's  nat- 
ural son,  the  archbishop  of  Saragossa. 

He  had  reigned  forty-one  years  over  Castile,  and 
thirty-seven  over  Aragon,  and  died  in  his  sixty-fourth 
year.  His  body,  at  first  laid  beside  Isabella's  in  the 
monastery  of  the  Alhambra,  was  removed  with  hers  the 
next  year,  to  the  Cathedral  church  of  Granada,  where 
Charles  V.  afterward  erected  the  mausoleum  of  exqui- 
sitely carved  marble  still  visible  to-day. 


,  heiress  of 


1,  1065-1109; 
'72. 


URRA^ 


f  Raimond  B 
rcelona. 

] 

•:kdi>'AND  E 
1157-1188. 


•2)ALF0NS( 


1252;  (1)  =  I3 
(2)==  J 


^ 


A>XHO  I 


of  Portugal 

I 


tLFONSO  1 


1.  hen! 

1390- 
^rs  =  (1)  JC 


b.  1498  (2) 
Emanuel,  6 


CASTILE. 


(•)  Rival  of  Richard  of  Cornwall  as  nominal  Emperor, 
(t;  Unsuccessful  comi>etitor  for  the  throne  agauist  Sancho  IV. 
(+)  Through  this  marriage  Spain  was  united  into  one    mon- 
archy. 


FERDINAND  I,  second  son  of  Sancho  the  Great,  1033-1065.  =  Sancia 


heiress  of  Leon. 


SANCHO  II,  1065-1072,  ob.  s.  p. 


ALFONSO  VI.  Leom,  1065-1109;  =  Constance,  dan.  of  Robert, 


Castile  K  '12. 


Theresa  =  Henry,  grandson  of  Robert, 
D.  of  Burgundy. 


Berengaria,  dau.  o 


URRACA  1109-1126.  (l)  =  Raimond,  son  of  William,  C.  of  Burgundy. 

-      (2)  =  ALFONSO  I.  of  Aragon,  VII.  of  Castile  and  Leon. 

'  Mmond  Berenger  III.  _  (UlFON;SO  VIII.  (2)  _  (1)  Richilda  of  Poland.  (f-^S^-'i^^-J-fJ-J^-f ''-«""«• 


of  Barcelona 


Sancia  =  Sancho  VI.  of  Navarre. 
ALFONSO  I'x.  1158-1214.  =r  Eleanor,  dau.  of  Henry  II  of  England. 


SANCHO  III.,  1157-1158.  =  Blanche,  dau.  of  Garcia  IT 

I  of  Navarre. 


Constance  =  Louis  VII.  of  France. 


Fi 


AlfonsoII  of  Portu^l  =  4.  Urrica.        2.  H^NRYL         3.  Blmlche  =  Louis  VIIL  of  France.       5.  Elea;ior  =  (l)  James  I.  of  Aragon.        1.  Beren^ria 
AUV.USU      .  o  1214-1217,  ob.  s.  p. 


D.  of  Burgundy. 


Leon. 


1126-1157. 

) 


-:hdi>"Axd  II.  ==  Urraca,  dau.  of 


Urraca  =  Garcia  IV.  of  Navarre 


Sancia  =  (2)  Alfonso  II.  of  Aragon. 


1157-1188. 


Alfonso  I 
of  Portugal. 


(2)  ALFONSO  IX.  1188-1230.  (1)  =  Tlieresa,  dau.  of  Sancho  I.  of  Portugal. 


Louis  IX. 


FERDINAND  II.'  Castile,  1217- 
Leori  1230. 


1252;  (1)  =  Beatrix,  dau  of  Emp.  Philip. 

1^1)=  Joanna,  dau.  of  C.  of  Aumale  and  Ponthieu. 


(1) 


ALFONSO  X*,  1252-1284.  ==  lolande,  dau.  of  James  I.  of  Aragon. 


Blanche  =  Ferdinand  de  la  Cerda,  ob.  1275. 


Berengaria  (Mary)  =  (2)  John  de  Brienne,  Eastern  Emp. 
(2) 


S  ANCHO  I^^.,  1284-1295. 

I 


Eleanor  =  Edward  I.  of  England. 
Beatrix  =  Alfonso  IIL  of  Portugal. 


(Denis 


2.  Alfonso,  t 


1.  Ferdinand. 

I 


FERDINAND  IV.,  129&-1312.  =j=Const 


of  Portugal.) 
I 


ance. 


Charles  C.  of  =  2.  Mary. 
Alencon 


1.  Blanche  =  John  Manual, 
Ld.ofVillena. 


Alfonso  IV.,  of  (2)  =  Eleanor. 
Aragon. 


Alfonso  IV.  =  Beatrix. 


/XFONSO  XL,  1312-1350. 


\ 


Mary. 


Joanna  =  HENRY  II.  of  Trastamare,  13G8-1379. 


PETER  the  Cruel,  1330-1368.  =  Blanche,  dau.  of  Peter  I.  of  Bourbon. 


Eleanor  =  Charles  III.  of  Navarre. 


i 

Eleanor, dau.  of  Peter  IV.  of  Aragon.  =(1)  JOHN  l'..  1379-1390.  (2) -Beatrix,  dau.  of  Ferdinand  of  Portugal.  \ 


\ 


(Edward  III.  of  England.) 


Constance  =  John  of  Gamit. 


Edmund,  Duke  of  York.  =  Isabella. 


2.  Ferdinand,  K.  of  Aragon  and  Sicily. 


a.  HENkv  III.,  =T  Catharine. 
1390-140G. 


John  IT.  of  Aragon. 


]yiary  =  (1)  JOHN  II.,  1406-1454.  (2)  =  Isabella  of  Portugal. 


(2) 


(1) 


I  ) 

Ferdinand,  ob.  1516+ =2.  Isabella,  1474-1504. 


3.  Alfonso,  ob.  1468. 


1.  HENRY  IV.,  1454-1474,  (1)  =  Blanche  of  Navarre. 

ob.  s.  p.  (2)  =  Joanna,  dau  of  Edward  of  Portugal 


(Emp,  Maximilian  I.") 


I 

2.  John  =  Margaret,  ob.  1530. 
ob.  e  p.  141'7. 


PHILIP,  ob.  1506.  T  3.  JOANNA,  ob.  1555. 
CHARLES  I.  of  Spain,  Emp.  Charles  V. 


Alfonso,  P.  of  Portugal.  =-  (1)  1.  Isabella  ob.  1  W8  (2)  j  (1)  Emanuel  of  Portugal.  (2)  =  4.  Mary. 

Emanuel,  ob,  s  p   1500. 


Catherine  (1)  =  Arthur,  F,  of  Wales. 

(2)  =  Henry  VIII.  of  England, 


ARAGON. 


ii 


Indudin^Z  Aras'oncsc  Frinces   in    Provence^   Majorca^  and  Sicily. 


HAMIKF.Z  I.,  fourth  son  of  SanclU)  HI,  of  Navarre, 

lOoo- 1(103. 

I 

SA>'CH<)  RAMIREZ, 


Barcelona. 
Kaimoxd  Berenger  II.  ==  Matilda,  dau.  of 


ob.  1082. 


Robert  (iuiscurd. 


Dolce,  heiress  ~  (2)Raimond  Bkhengkr  III.,(1)  =  " 
of  rrovence. 


PEDRO  I. 

1004-llC^,  ob.  s.  p 


ALF»  »NSO  I.,  =  (.2)  Urraca,  Quee:'.  of  Castile. 
11U4-1134,  ub.  s.  i». 


RA^UREZ  II..  1134-1137,  res.; 
ob.  1147. 

I  * 


ob.  1130. 
Provence. 


PETRONILLA, 

1137-1172. 


R.AIMONP  Rekkngeu  IV 

ob.  11G2. 


Derenger  Raymom>, 
ob.  1144. 


Rereiigaria  =  Alfonso  VIII, 
of  Castile. 


*  By  this  marriafre  Catalonia  was  united  to  Aragon. 

t  Alfonso  II.  interfered  in  Provence  iioniinally  in  behalf  of  the 
heiress  of  Rainiond  Berenger  II.,  but  kept  it  for  himself,  and  gave 
it  to  his  brothers  and  son  in  succession. 

:}:  Hence  the  Aragonese  claim  to  Naples  and  Sicily. 

II  With  her,  Provence  went  to  the  House  of  Anjou  in  Naples. 

\  Succeeded  to  Sicily  on  death  of  his  son. 

**  Elected  to  Aragon  and  Sicily  on  death  of  Martin  the  Elder. 
Henceforth  Aragon  and  Sicily  remain  united. 

f+King  of  Naples  also,  in  succession  to  Joanna  II. 

55  King  of  Navarre  also,  in  right  of  his  first  wife. 


Mat 

i 

of 


rilda   dau   of -m  ALFONSO  I  I.f  (2;  t  SiH'^^l'^'- '■:!"•  f>f       R  aim.  .NT.  Beuenger  II  I.         Sanch<>  of  Provence, 
\fonI!>l  11G2-11DG.  Alto„suVin.  of  Pn.vence,  deprive  1,  llbo. 

t  Portugal.  uf  Castile.  ob.s.p.  1181. 


Dolce  =Sancho  I.  of 
I'ortuual. 


llAi.Mo.M)  l>EnENGER  II.  =  Richilda,  wldow  of 


ob.  IIGG. 


Provence. 


Alfonso  VI 11.  of 
Castile. 


Dolce, 


PEDRO  II..  110<-r.l3 
killed  at  Muret. 


Constance  il)  =       Emeric  ol"  Hungarv. 
(2)  =  (1)  Enip.  Frederick  li'. 


Eleanor  =  (5)  Rainiond  VI. 
of  Toulouse. 


Eleanor  dau.  of  Alfonso  IX.  =(1)  JAYME  I.,  theConqueror,(2)=Iolande.  dan.  of  Andrew  II. 
ot  Castile,  divorced  1-229.       |  1213-127G.  of  liu.^ary. 

Majorca. 


Alfonso,  ob.  1200. 


Aleonso  II. 
111K'.-1209. 

R.VIMOXn   lir.R   .NGER  IV. 

1209-l:.'45. 


Sancha  =  Rainiond  V 1 1.        c!eprived  by  Alfonso  II. 
of  Toulouse. 

Beatrix,  dan.  of  Thomas. 


C.  uf  Savoy 


Margaret,  =  St.  Louis. 


Eleanor  =  Henry  III.  of  England. 


"^    JkYM-   I  1.  PEDRi*  111..  1270-1285;  =  Constance,t  dau.  of  3.  lolante  =  Alfonso  N.  of 

"ob.  loll'     *'  "  J.  of  Sicily,  1282-12>.j.        j  Manfred.  Castile. 


4.  Isabella  (1)  Philip  III.  of 
France. 


Sancha  =  Richard  of  Cornwall. 

Sicily. 


Beatrix  |;  =  Charles  of  Anjou. 


S\xrno.--Marv.dau.of       Ferdinand.       ALFON>(>  II'  , 
ob.  s.  p.        Charles  1 ! .  ob.  1318.  ob.  s.  p.  1285-1291. 

of  Naples. 


Elizabeth  ==  Deni;.  of 
Portugal. 


lolande  =  Rol.ert  of 
Naples. 


1324. 


AY  ME  IL, 

K.  of  Sicilv.  12S.'V-1201. 
K.  of  Aragoi',  1291-1327. 


-.=  Blanche,  dau.  of  Charles  IL 
of  Naples. 


Fkederick  I.,  =  Eleanor,  dau.  of  Charles  II 


1296-1337. 


Theresa  d'Ei  teoa  =  (1)  ALFONSO  IV..  2) Eleanor,  dau.  of  Ferdinand  IV. 
!  1327-1330.  of  Castile. 


of  Naples. 


Pepho  II. 
1337-iai2. 


Jayme  IL  ob.  1349.  =  3,  Constance. 
Joanna  I.  C'f  Naples  (3)  =  Jav^ie,  ob.  s.  p.  1375. 

I 


2.  Jayme,  C.  of  l'r:^el. 


Pedro, 
t 


Marv,  dan.  (  f  rbili;>  of  L.vreux,  =  (1)  1.  PEDROIV.,  (2)  =  EUuMor,  dau.  of  Alfonso  IV.  of  Portugal. 

K    of  Nav'irre  1330-138 ».  i  i 

Martha,  =(4)  (^3)  =  Eleanor.       Beatrix  =  Robert  I L,  Elector  Palatine, 


(4) 


(:) 


(3) 


(3) 


Lewt-",  1342-1355 
ob.  s.  p. 


Frederick  II,  =  Constance  dau.  of 


(3) 


1355-1377. 


Jayme,  C.  of  X^-<.el  =  Isabella.        Frederick  IL  of  Sicily-Constance.  Juan  L  of  Castile.  =  3.    EUanor. 

claimant  of  crowUj'^Hio, . 

^^•^•I'-"^-  ...   Lr  ^<....:i.  FERDINAND  I. *«=  Eleanor  of 


ENRIQUE  III.  of  Castile. 


1.  JUAN  I..  1387-1395. 
I 
lolande  =  Louis  1 1,  of  Anjou 
and  Provence. 


2.  MARTIN  Li>  of  Aragon,  1395-1410; 
IL  of  Sicilv,  1409-1410. 


Pedro  IV. 
of  Aragon. 


1412-1410. 


.\lbu(iuer(iue. 


Blanche,  dau.  of  iV\  =  1  :-.iartix  l.of  Sicily,  (2)  =  Mary, 
Charles  Ul.  of  Navarre.  1391-1409,  ob.  s.  p.        ] 377-1402. 


ALFONSO  XAr  tlie  Matrnanimous, 
ub.  s.  p.  1.  lilO-1456. 


,,,       ,       r  ^-  -1  *•  AT„..+u,  T   /^>f  ^.'-.Jv    --  rn  JUAN  II.lt  1458-1479  (2;  =  Joanna  Henri.iuez. 

Blanche  of  Niivarre,  widow  of  Martui  1.  ot  ftiOii>.    .    (^j;  «j  i-.j.^'<  ^   .++  \ 


Mary  =  Juan  1 1,  of  Castile. 


Eleanor  =   Edward  of  Portuga^ 


Charles, 
©b.  s.  p,  1401, 


Blanche  =  Enrique  IV. 
of  Castile. 


Eleanor, 
Q.  of  Navarre. 


Joanna  =  Ferdinand  I. 
of  Naples. 


Germaii'e(l)  =(2)  FERDINAND,  (1)=  Isabella  of  Castile, 
de  Foix.  1479-1510.  ob.  1504, 


Character  of  Ferdinand. 


355 


we 

V 

'i!. 

t' 
I- 

1 


Ferdinand  was  a  bigot ;  he  was  not  free  from  the 
taint  of  perfidy  tossed  to  and  fro  so  freely  in  that  age  j 
he  was  parsimonious,  subtle  and  insincere ;  he  utterly 
lacked  geniality,  and  never  threw  off  the  gravity  which 
he  thought  becoming  the  Spanish  grandee  ;  he  indulged 
in  vicious  gallantries,  in  egotistic  designs,  in  an  ill- 
assorted  second  marriage  ;  he  was  suspicious,  vulgar, 
and  uneducated  ;  all  this  one  is  willing  to  grant,  and 
vet  concede  that  there  were  elements  of  true  grandeur 
in  his  character.  In  the  judgment  of  many  of  his  con- 
temporaries, he  was  the  most  renowned  and  glorious 
monarch  i^i  Christendom.  Impartial,  economical,  inde- 
fatigable in  his  application  to  business,  he  was  neither 
epicure  nor  ostentatious ;  he  loved  history,  horseman- 
ship, the  rites  and  ritual  of  a  splendid  church  ceremo- 
nial, knightly  virtues  and  chivalrous  undertakings  ;  and 
with  unusual  control  over  his  temper,  undaunted  per- 
sonal courage,  and  a  far-seeing  political  sagacity,  he 
made  few  bad  mistakes,  and,  by  wonderful  good  fortune, 
raised  Spain,  jointly  wdth  his  magnanimous  queen,  from 
a  conglomeration  of  reciprocally  hostile  states  into  a 
spacious  and  concentrated  European  empire. 


h^  »  : 


-  f" 


.1 


t 


\ 


\ 


Two  Helpful  Instruments. 


367 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE   SPANISH   NAVIGATORS. 

COLUMBUS,  starting  out  with  letters  for  the  Grand 
Khan  of  Tartary,  is  a  type  of  the  Spanish  navi- 
igators  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries.  Ignor- 
ance, superstition,  romanticism,  boundless  pluck,  quaint 
pertinacity  of  purpose,  love  of  gold,  imaginative  schemes 
for  the  re-conquest  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  the  hope  of 
prefixing  Don  (up  to  that  time  allowed  only  to  persons 
of  rank)  to  their  names,  the  hope  of  immortality  and  of 
immensely  extending  the  Castilian  arms ;  such  were  a 
few  of  the  motives  impelling  the  men  of  that  age  and 
producing  the  intellectual  fermentation  which  char- 
acterized these  famous  centuries. 

Silks,  gems,  precious  stones,  luxurious  commodities 
perfumes,  wealth  of  all  sorts,  played  hide-and-seek 
before  the  credulous  imaginations  of  the  age,  temptincr 
men  on  vague  report  to  venture  their  frail  barks  out  on 
unknown  waters,  stimulating  commercial  intercourse 
between  nations,  making  men  ransack  dusty  libraries 
for  old  copies  of  Strabo,  Pliny,  Mela,  Plato,  and  Ptol- 
emy, that  they  might  see  what  the  ancients  had  said 
about  elysiums  beyond  the  seas,  and  filling  the  univer- 
sities and  Mediterranean  towns  with  throngs  of  men, 

356 


eager  to  test  by  actual  experiment  the  existence  of  the 
New  Atlantis,  the  shadowy  Cipango,  and  the  glittering 
principalities  of  the  remote  Indies. 

A  rapid  and  universal  advance  in  culture  ensued  on 
the  invention  of  printing.  Men  no  longer  won  their 
sole  education  by  campaigning  in  Palestine,  Germany 
or  Italy,  and  wresting  from  Guelph  or  Infidel  a  labori- 
ous subsistence.  The  scholar,  the  recluse,  the  brood- 
ing ecclesiastic,  the  conventual  hermit,  the  burgher  and 
the  nobleman  alike,  could  stay  at  home,  read  of  the 
remarkable  achievements  of  men,  pursue  speculative 
and  experimental  science  to  advantage,  and  gradually 
attain  that  point  whence  discovery  of  every  sort  followed 
•as  a  matter  of  course.  Even  "  the  Ocean  Sea,"  gloomy 
and  immeasurable  as  it  spread  out  from  the  western 
shores  of  Europe,  came  at  length  to  be  timidly  trav- 
ersed ;  the  girdling  equatorial  fires  crossed ;  the  fantas- 
tically brilliant  sunlight  of  the  poles  penetrated  ;  the 
scented  spice  islands,  so  alluring  to  the  early  navigators, 
tracked  and  revealed ;  whilst  the  sparkling  archipela- 
goes of  India  and  Mexico,  where  men  were  said  to 
catch  gold  in  nets  and  festoon  themselves  with  pearls, 
opened  like  some  fairy-land  before  their  gaze. 

Two  simple  instruments  —  the  Compass  and  the 
Astrolabe  —  helped  to  do  all  these  wonders  for  man- 
kind. The  Chinese,  it  is  said,  had  groped  about  their 
yellow  seas  with  a  southward-pointing  needle,  to  which 
polarity  had  been  communicated  by  means  of  the  load- 
stone, as  early  as  the  third  or  fourth  century  of  the 
Christian  era;  but  the  use  of  the  needle  in  Europe, 
though  probably  of  considerable  antiquity,  is  not  men- 
tioned before   iioo.     The  loves  of  the  needle  and  the 


wwwArfWgac- 


sres 


368 


Spanish  Navigators. 


North  star,  the  steadfastness  with  which  the  metallic 
thread  po.nted  to  the  bright  apparition  of  the  star 
Alpha, -were  a  mystery  and  a  wonder  to  the  simple 
navigators  as  they  began  to  utilize  the  discovery-  and 
pass  through  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  out  into  tfte 
unknown  sea. 

Then   Martin  Behem  invented  for  the  Portuguese  a 
huge  ,ron  ring  three  feet  in  circumference,  -  the  Astro- 
labe,-by  which   latitude   could   be  taken.     Arabian 
sages  had  meanwhile  been  measuring  a  degree  of  lati- 
tude, and  calculating  the  circumference  of  the  globe 
Pnnce  Heniy  of  Portugal,  in  whose  veins  flowed  the 
blood  of  Philippa  of  Lancaster,  gave  a  wonderful  im- 
petus to  discovery,  before  his  death  in  1473,  by  endoW 
ng  a  naval  college  and  observatory,  and  accomplishin-^ 
the  exploration  of  the  African  coast  from  Cape  Blanco 
to  Cape  de  Verde,  unravelling  the  darkness  of  the  occi- 
dental seas  for  fifteen  hundred  miles,  and  plucking  from 
them  as  U  were,  the  Azores  with  their  myriads  of  hawks, 
the  wes't    °"'°"-*°"''''''"g  Cape  de  Verde  islands,  far  to 

It  is  delightful  to  read  of  the  Portuguese  navigators- 
of  L,sbon  ,n  the  fifteenth  century,  marvelling  and  mar- 
vellous wth  ever-recurring  tales  of  new  lancfs  and  con- 
sents  .n    the   Antartic   south ;    of    new   expeditions 
stead. ly  putting  forth  from  the  ports  of  the  liitle  ki„g- 

of  Af  L"""f  "  r'""°'  '^«"'^"^^^>'  ---navigatio'n 
of  Africa;  of  squadrons  returning  with  sun-burntLusi- 
taman  tars,  whose  lips  waxed  as  eloquent  as  Maunde- 

and  suflfered  „i  those  seas  ;  of  Vasco  de  Gama,  a  little 
later  on,  performing  his  dazzling  tour  deforce  oi  doul 


TUh.  blERRA  DE  OCA,  NEAK  MlKA.NDA  DE  EliRU. 


*1 


3,^8 


Spanish  Navigators. 


North  star,  the  steadfastness  with  which  the  metallic 
thread  potnted  to  the  bright  apparition  of  the  star 
Alpha, -were  a  mystery  and  a  wonder  to  the  sin,ple 
navtgators  as  they  began  to  utilise  the  disco^•erv  and 
pass  through  the  Pillars  of  Herct.les  out  into  the 
unknown  sea. 

Then   Martin  Beheni  invented   for  the  Portuguese  a 
huge  iron  ring  three  feet  in  circumference.  -  the"  -Astro- 
labe, -  by  which    latitude   could    be   taken.      Arabian 
sages  had  meanwhile  been  measuring  a  degree  of  lati- 
nide,  and  calculating  the  circumference  of  the   <.lobe 
Pnnce  Henry  of  Portugal,  in  whose  veins  flowed  the 
blood  of  Phdippa  of  Lancaster,  gave  a  wonderful  im- 
pe  us  to  discovery,  before  his  death  in  r473,  bv  endow- 
ng  a  naval  college  and  observatory,  and  accomplishin<. 
he  exploration  of  the  African  coast  front  Cape  Blanco 
to  tape  de  Verde,  unravelling  the  darkness  of  the  occi- 
dental seas  for  fifteen  hundred  miles,  and  plucking  from 
ttem  as  u  were,  the  Azores  with  their  myriads  of  hawks, 
the  w^^t     °''"°"""'"'-"'""-  ^"••»P«  ''e  Verde  islands,  far  to 

It  is  delightful  to  read  of  the  Portuguese  navigators; 
of  Lisbon  ,n  the  fifteenth  century,  marvelling  and  mar- 
ellous  with  ever-recurring  tales  of  new  lands  and  con- 
t ments  ,n  the  Antartic  south  :  of  new  expe.li.ions 
jead,  y  putting  forth  from  the  ports  of  the  li Lie  kin^t 
don,  to  re-achieve  Hanno's  legendary  circumnavigatio; 
°anh      ;;-  °f  -^q"-  -ns  returning  with  sun-burnt^  Lusi- 

I  isuff.  'f-'^.'-'^V  "''°^"""-'  ""%- they  had  seen 
and  suffered  ,n  those  seas  ;  of  A'asco  de  Gama.  a  little 
later  on,  performing  his  da.zling  /..../.>,,  of  do  b 


•IHE  SIERRA  DE  OCA,  NEAR  MIRANDA  DE  EHRO. 


Poetical  Adventures, 


36] 


ling  the  cape  of  Good  Hope  and  passing  on  to  the 
diamonds  and  pagodas  of  the  Orient ;  of  papal  bulls 
granting  the  Portuguese  sovereign  authority  over  all  the 
lands  his  people  might  discover  in  the  Atlantic  to  India 
inclusive,  and  threatening  disaster  to  all  who  should 
interfere  with  these  discoveries. 

Though  love  of  money  was  largely  at  the  bottom  of 
these  astonishing  deeds,  there  \s  hardly  one  of  the 
primitive  navigators,  from  Columbus  in  his  diaries  to 
Cortes  in  his  commentaries;  from  Vespucius,  dimly  trav- 
elling in  Columbus's  track  to  Orellana,  floating  down 
the  mighty  Amazon,  who  was  not  a  poet.  Setting  forth 
in  their  crazy  caravels,  without  logarithms,  dead  reck- 
oning lines,  or  means  of  determining  the  variations  of 
the  magnetic  needle  ;  without  decks  to  their  ships ;  ex- 
posed to  the  icy  chili  ot  the  Atlantic  night  and  the 
blaze  of  the  equatorial  day;  with  mouldy  provisions, 
drenched  skins,  and  comfortless  quarters,  month  in 
month  out,  they  went  on  with  unconquerable  gladness, 
ship  after  ship  full  of  smiling  argonauts,  —  a-search  for 
the  golden  fleece,  reminding  us  of  the  rowers  of  the 
Odyssey,  steadfast  as  stars  to  find  land  in  these  illimit- 
able waters  and  guided  to  it  in  the  end  with  an  instinct 
truly  infallible. 

The  old  saga-tellers  of  Iceland  have  left  us  in  Eirik 
the  Red's  saga,  a  charming  account,  vividly  portrayed, 
of  the  southward  sailings  of  the  Icelanders;  of  their 
meeting  with  the  elf-locked  Esquimaux ;  of  their  pas- 
sage to  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  of  the  white  buffalo 
robes,  long  spears,  war-whoop,  feather-decked  garments, 
and  weapons  of  the  red  Indians  they  met ;  but  we  have 
no  account  prior  to  Columbus  of  the  great  oceanic  em- 


362 


Spanish  Navlijators, 


Christopher   Cohimhus. 


363 


I 


I 


\ 


|( 


it 


pire  in  the  South  wherein  Columbus  hung  his  pear- 
shaped  paradise,  wherein  he  expected  to  hear  the 
pagoda-bells  of  China,  where  his  exquisite  poetic  sense 
gave  a  mysterious  intelligence  to  everything,  and  where 
everything  was  pregnant  with  scriptural  allusion  or 
prophecy  for  him. 

Columbus's  probable  birthplace  was  Genoa,  and  the 
date  of  his  birth  has  been  approximately  determined  as 
having  occurred  about  the  year  1435.  ^i^  early  knowl- 
edge of  geography,  astronomy,  geometry,  and  navigation 
was  acquired  at  the  university  of  Pavia.  At  fourteen 
he  was  before  the  mast,  peering  into  dim  seas  and  pic- 
turing to  himself  undiscovered  mountains  with  the 
ardent  imagination  of  one  precociously  ripened  and 
already  conscious  of  a  destiny  awaiting  him.  His 
Mediterranean  and  Levant  voyages  are  beclouded  with 
doubt;  but  in  1470  we  clearly  find  him  at  Lisbon  —  a 
man  of  light-gray,  kindling  eyes,  hair  of  snow  at  thirty, 
irritable  though  affable,  blond  as  any  Teuton,  simple- 
mannered  yet  authoritative  in  speech,  a  religious  en- 
thusiast who  supported  himself  by  pencilling  maps 
and  charts ;  a  meditative  cosmographer  perpetually 
brooding  over  the  sinuous  lines  of  his  sea-drawings,  and 
providentially  haunted  by  apparitions  of  land  to  the 
west,— the  Fortunate  Isles,  Plato's  Atlantis,  the  Cartha- 
ginian Antilla,  the  bright-tinted  Canaries  aud  Azores, 
the  lovely  garden  of  the  Hesperides  floating  and  flash- 
ing on  the  curve  of  the  horizon  —  a  poetic  maze  of 
truth  and  error,  involving  him  in  feverish  disquietude 
and  fed  by  the  family  of  navigators  into  which  he  had 
married  in  Portugal. 

A  passion  seized  Columbus  to  know  everything  that 


had  been  known  or  written,  by  ancients  or  moderns,  on 
geography,  and  he  drew  up  a  sort  of  creed  by  which 
from  various  points  of  view  he  convinced  himseF,  and 
eventually  others,  that  there  must  be  a  western  passage 
to  the  cities  of  the  Indies.  His  enthusiasm  polarized 
every  piece  of  corroborative  testimony,  and  made  it  point 
straight  in  the  direction  of  his  theory.  He  convinced 
himself,  from  the  reports  of  navigators,  the  authority  of 
learned  writers,  and  the  very  nature  of  things,  that 
land  —  the  over-lapping  wing  of  Asia,  stretching  far  to 
the  east,  and  voluming  out  like  a  vast  curtain  with  a 
Europe-ward  curve  —  lay  beyond  the  Azores.  He  was 
a  man  of  singularly  beautiful  fancy,  erudite  in  a  certain 
sense  withal,  with  a  solemn  sort  of  eloquence  that  inter- 
ested people  who  from  regarding  him  as  a  visionary 
guilty  of  a  fixed  idea,  came  to  look  upon  him  as  an 
inspired  sailor  and  prophet,  and  at  length  even  tried  to 
surround  him  with  the  halo  of  a  saint.  The  palaces  of 
Cathay,  with  roofs  of  burnished  plates  of  gold,  cam- 
phire-illumined  ceilings,  where  the  pearly  sea-grit  was  as 
plentiful  as  blackberries,  and  the  wealth  reported  by 
the  great  Venetian  traveller  encrusted  every  city  and 
highway  ;  gold  dust,  ivory,  slaves,  fantastic  minarets, 
and  monstrous  idols  with  blazing  jewels  for  eyes ;  ail 
these  things  danced  before  his  eyes,  and  he  saw  in  them 
the  means  for  the  realization  of  his  life-long  scheme  — 
the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Land  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
Saracen. 

In  1484  he  left  Lisbon  with  his  son  Diego,  exasper- 
ated at  the  faithlessness  and  vacillation  of  King  Joa, 
and  made  his  way  painfully  to  Spain. 

Here  for  seven  years  (i 485-1 492)    he  hung  around 


1 


!  . 


h 


364 


The  Spanish  Navigators. 


the  Bohemian  court  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  —  a 
court  perpetually  flitting  from  point  to  point  according 
as  the  exigencies  of  the  Moorish  war  demanded, — 
urging  his  claims,  discussing  his  project  at  Cordova, 
and  before  the  doctors  of  Salamanca,  refuting  the  Bib- 
lical and  patristic  texts  with  which  they  assailed  him  to 
prove  the  impossibility  of  a  western  continent,  following 
the  court  like  a  faithful  hound  into  the  very  heart  of  the 
Moorish  dominions  ;  pointed  at  by  the  very  children  as 
a  madman,  ridiculed  for  his  notion  of  an  antipodes 
where  they  said  men  must  needs  walk  heels  upward, 
trees  grow  into,  instead  of  out  of  the  earth,  rain  and 
snow  shoot  out  of  the  soil  skyward,  and  the  ver}^  ro- 
tunditv  of  the  earth  would  make  a  mountain  barrier,  up 
which  no  ship  could  sail. 

There  were  many  people,  however  —  not  doctors  of 
Salamanca  or  cavaliers  of  Cordova — who  were  struck 
with  the  grandeur  of  Columbus's  views ;  none  more  so 
than  Juan  Perez,  the  worthy  prior  of  the  convent  of  La 
Rabida,  and  the  Pinzons,  a  family  of  famous  navigators 
living  at  Palos  on  the  sea. 

By  their  help  he  ultimately  overcame  the  distrust  of 
the  suspicious  Ferdinand,  gained  access  to  the  sover- 
eigns, wrung  from  them  by  his  perseverance,  the  titles 
of  admiral  and  viceroy  over  the  countries  he  should 
discover,  and  owner  of  one-tenth  of  all  gains  thence 
accruing,  and  even  inspired  the  heroic  Isabella  to  de- 
clare "  that  she  undertook  the  enterprise  for  her  own 
crown  of  Castile,  and  pledged  her  jewels  to  raise  the 
necessary  funds." 

The  gracious  queen  —  in  marked  opposition  to  the 
short-sighted  king  —  thus  became  the  patroness  of  the 
noblest   expedition   ever  planned  ;   and   it   is  said    the 


iiAJMvb    Ui    iiiJti    iJ.vxvu<^'-        »jxvrL.ii.-vL>A. 


I 


• 


i  I 


m 


The  New  World  Found. 


367 


same  pen  that  signed  the  capitulation  of  Granada  in 
1492,  virtually  signed  the  agreement  of  the  sovereigns 
to  Columbus's  stipulation  the  same  year. 

The  funds  for  the  expedition  came  temporarily  out  of 
the  treasury  of  Aragon,  though  the  glory  and  aggran- 
dizement arising  from  it  redound  to  the  memory  of  the 
enlightened  Isabella  of  Castile. 

Columbus  was  fifty-six  —  he  had  been  a  suppliant  for 
eighteen  years  —  at  this  triumphant  moment  of  his  life, 
— triumphant,  indeed,  when  we  consider  with  what  slight 
means  he  was  to  achieve  his  enterprise. 

The  Santa  Maria,  the  Pinta,  and  the  Nina  —  quaint, 
high-pooped,  forecastled  structures,  two  of  them  open- 
decked  and  one  with  lateen  sails  —  glided  out  of  the 
little  port  of  Palos  with  the  "  high-admiral  of  the  Ocean 
sea  "  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  souls  aboard,  in  Au- 
gust, 1492  ;  and  cleaving  the  Gibraltar  seas,  sped  south- 
westerly toward  the  Peak  of  Teneriffe  and  the  Canaries. 
Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  and  his  brothers,  Francisco  and 
Vicente  Yanez,  accompanied  him. 

Land ! 

Columbus  himself  had  won  the  ten  thousand  marave- 
dis  promised  to  him  who  should  first  see  land ;  for  on 
the  night  of  Friday,  October  nth,  1492,  he  had  beheld 
lights  glimmering  at  a  great  distance,  and  the  next 
morning  the  weary  navigators  threw  themselves  on  their 
knees  with  passionate  tears  of  thanksgiving,  and  called 
the  land  San  Salvador. 

Columbus  lived  and  died  in  the  illusion  that  it  was 
the  outspurs  of  India  that  he  had  discovered — whence 
the  name  given  to  the  aborigines  ;  and  throughout  the 
varied  experience  of  his  four  voyages  he  persisted  in 
the  belief. 


368 


The  Spaiiish  Navigators, 


Sensation  in  Spain. 


369 


11 


His  fortunate  miscalculation  of  the  circumference  of 
the  globe,  making  him  think  that  it  was  one-eighth 
smaller  than  it  really  was,  drew  him  on  with  the  hope 
that  he  should  immediately  see  land.  To  keep  up  the 
spirits  of  his  crews,  he  kept  two  reckonings,  one  for 
himself,  with  the  true  distances  traversed  from  day  to 
day,  and  the  other  altered,  and  intended  to  deceive  his 
companions  into  the  belief  that  they  were  not  so  far  from 
their  native  land  as  was  actually  the  case.  The  discovery 
of  Cuba,  Hispaniola,  Jamaica,  the  Pearl  Islands,  the 
mainland  of  South  America  and  Central  America,  rapidly 
followed,  the  glory  being  left  to  Sebastian  Cabot  of  dis- 
covering and  coasting  North  America  in  the  year  1497. 

Hoodwinked  with  his  theories,  Columbus  wasted 
precious  time  and  many  lives  in  tracing  and  retracing 
his  steps  through  the  intricacies  of  the  Caribbean  archi- 
pelago, searching  for  the  continent  of  Asia,  the  outlying 
evidences  of  Asiatic  civilization,  and  an  opportunity  to 
avail  himself  of  the  Hebrew  and  Arabic  interpreters 
whom  he  had  brought  with  him  to  communicate  with 
the  inhabitants  of  the  New  World. 

To  the  apprehension  of  the  simple  islanders  Colum- 
bus's ships  had  shot  out  of  the  crystal  firmament ;  the 
mariners  were  the  children  of  the  sun,  beauteous- 
haired,  from  the  burning  East  whence  salvation  was  to 
come  ;  thunder  and  lightning  flashed  out  of  the  rods 
they  held  in  their  hands ;  they  were  luminous  intelli- 
gences, not  beardless,  naked,  tattooed  like  themselves 
or  living  on  cassava-bread,  yuca  root,  and  fruits,  but 
fair  spirits  that  lavished  on  them  hawk's  bells,  strings 
of  crystal  made  in  the  skies,  and  cloths  colored  like  the 
dawn.     They  ran  after  the  Spaniards  and  worshipped 


them  as  supernatural  beings,  treated  them  with  gentle 
benignity,  and  gave  them  their  ornaments  of  gold  with 
affecting  readiness. 

The  announcement  of  these  discoveries  made  a  pro- 
found sensation  in  Spain.  Rumors  of  the  golden 
islands,  of  the  marvellous  sun-colored  birds,  of  fish 
with  scales  that  flashed  like  precious  stones,  of  thou- 
sand-tinted dolphins,  of  forests  of  spice-woods  spark- 
ling with  the  winged  radiance  of  the  humming-bird,  the 
blood-red  flamingo,  the  sapphire-sharded  insect  life  of 
the  tropics,  of  regions  where  the  birds  and  crickets 
sang  all  night,  and  the  hurricanes  cast  ashore  multi- 
tudes of  lustrous  shells  —  spread  all  over  Spain,  and 
made  Columbus's  journey  through  the  country,  on  his 
return,  a  triumphal  procession. 

More  precious,  however,  than  any  cinnamon,  nutmeg, 
or  rhubarb,  that  they  were  ever  in  search  of,  were  the 
potato-plant,  the  Indian  corn,  the  sweet  pepper,  the 
intoxicating  tobacco,  the  strange  fruits  of  this  populous 
island-studded  archipelago.  *'  The  infinity  of  great  and 
green  trees  "  excited  the  admiration  of  the  admiral,  and 
he  told  his  royal  auditors  of  how  the  natives  had 
canoes,  made  out  of  the  trunk  of  a  single  tree,  capable 
of  holding  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons ;  of  the  beauty 
of  the  tropical  vegetation ;  of  the  perfectly  naked 
women  with  rings  in  their  noses ;  of  the  easy  rule  of 
the  Indian  caciques ;  of  the  multitudes  of  fish,  turtle, 
and  game,  found  everywhere ;  of  the  grace  and  prince- 
liness  of  many  of  the  native  sovereigns  ;  of  the  caress- 
ing hospitality  they  met  with  ;  of  the  mystic  mermaiden 
they  had  seen  on  their  w^y  home  ;  the  fierce  Caribs  they 
had  encountered ;  and  their  eventual  arrival  in  Portugal, 


I 


4  ,; 


,    .! 


370 


l^he  Spayiish  Navigators. 


I 


■  ; 


Hi 


after  planting  the  colony  of  La  Navidad  in  the  New- 
World. 

The  whole  of  Europe  soon  rang  with  these  thrilling 
stories.     The  germ  of  the  mighty  India  House  of  Spain 
was  planted  at  Seville.     Isabella's  compassionate  heart 
interested  itself   in  the  spiritual  welfare  of   the   poor 
Indians.     Columbus  was  more  than  confirmed  in  all  his 
powers  and  privileges.     The  difficulties  between  Spain 
and  Portugal,  relative  to  their  mutual  rights  in  the  At- 
lantic, were  settled  in   1494  on  the  basis  that  a  line 
should  be  drawn  from  pole  to  pole,  three  hundred  and 
seventy  leagues  west  of  the  Cape  de  Verde  islands,  and 
that  Spain  should  have  a  right  to  all  discoveries  made 
west  of  this  line,  and  Portugal  to  those  made  east  of  it. 
In  1493  Columbus  sailed  anew;  discovered  the  beau- 
tiful semi-circle  of  the  Antilles  inhabited  by  the  Caribs  ; 
thoroughly  explored  Hispaniola,  where  hardly  a  trace  of 
the  colony  left  could  be  found ;  gathered  specimens  of 
amber,  lapis  lazuli,  jasper,  and  gold-dust ;  heard  of  the 
melon,  gourd,  and  cucumber  seed  which  he  had  planted, 
bearing  fruit  within  a  month ;   coasted  Cuba  carefully 
(1494),  and  discovered  Jamaica. 

The  air  here  was  filled  with  the  living  sparkles  of 
innumerable  butterflies  ;  ponderous  clusters  of  grapes 
clung  to  the  giant  grape  vines  ;  tortoises  thronged  the 
low  keys  and  reefs  of  the  milky  waters  south  of  Cuba ; 
cranes  stood  drawn  up  in  solemn  array  among  the  for- 
ests, and  filled  the  superstitious  Spaniards  with  affright ; 
the  tree  clefts  were  full  of  honey  ;  the  islands  shot 
forth  fragrances  to  deUght  their  senses ;  and  they  saw 
the  natives  catching  fish  and  tortoises  by  means  of  the 
cucker-lish,  which,  tied  by  the  tail  to  a  long  string,  was 


Hi 


Oystei's  on   Trees. 


371 


said  to  dart  fiercely  on  its  prey  and  attach  itself  until 
forced  to  relinquish  it  by  being  drawn  out  of  the  water. 

Colonization  sprang  up  swiftly  in  the  footsteps  of  Co- 
lumbus. He  had  waved  his  enchanter's  wand,  and  the 
gates  of  a  New  World  seemed  to  fly  open  for  all  the  rest- 
less blood  then  in  Europe  to  discharge  itself  through. 

In  1498  he  undertook  his  third  voyage  with  a  squad- 
ron of  six  ships  and  sailed  through  the  gulf  of  Paria, 
where  he  found  mangrove  trees  clustered  with  oysters, 
their  mouths  open,   according  to   the  legend,  ready  to 
catch  the  dew,  afterward  to  be  transformed  into  pearls. 
He  encountered  the  huge  volume  of  fresh  water  pour- 
ing forth  from  the  great  Oronooco,  and  speculated  in- 
geniously about  it.     On  his  arrival  at    Hispaniola   he 
found    the   whole    island    in    confusion.  —  Everywhere 
through  his  voyages  he  encountered  mutinies,  rebellion, 
opposition,  threats  of  assassination,  and  untold  suffer- 
ings from  shipwreck,  ill-health,   desertion,  and  shame- 
less  tittle-tattle  ;    but    succored    by  his    brothers,  Don 
Diego  and  the  Adelantado  Don  Bartholomew,  and  sus- 
tained by  his  own  indomitable  spirit,  he  was  enabled  to 
endure  even  the  last  indignity  of  being  sent  home  in 
irons  by  Bobadilla  at  the  conclusion  of  his  third  voyage, 
to  answer  charges  brought  against  him  by  his  enemies 
in  Castile. 

His  benefactress  always  welcomed  him  kindly,  but 
Ferdinand  lent  a  willing  ear  to  gossip,  and  humiliated 
Columbus  as  he  had  humiliated  the  great  Gonsalvo. 

In  1497  Vasco  de  Gama  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  and  three  years  later  Pedro  Alvarez  de  Cabral, 
sailing  in  the  interest  of  Portugal  to  Calicut,  took  pos- 
session of  Brazil,  discovered  earlier  the  same  year,  by 


:H 


372 


The  Spanhli  Xaviijators. 


il 


Vicente  Yanez  Pinzon  and  Diego  Lepe,  in  the  name  of 
Portugal,  because  the  land  lay  eastward  of  the  line 
agreed  upon  by  the  two  powers,  as  the  boundary  of 
their  respective  discoveries. 

In  this  way  Brazil  came  to  belong  to  Portugal.  Vi- 
cente Pinzon  was  the  first  European  who  crossed  the 
western  equinoctial  line,  though  Gama  in  his  expedition 
of  1497,  immortalized  in  the  Lusiadas  of  Camoens, 
must  first  have  observed  the  constellation  of  the  South- 
ern Cross,  which  became  at  once  the  symbol  of  faith, 
and  the  lode-star  of  the  southern  hemisphere. 

Columbus  in  1502,  departed  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven, 
on  his  fourth  voyage,  full  of  infirmities,  often  racked  by 
pain,  broken  down  in  health,  but  invincibly  bent  on  fur- 
ther extending  the  discoveries  he  had  begun.  He  had 
nobly  vindicated  himself  from  the  charges  of  Bobadilla 
and  now  ventured  out  for  the  last  time,  in  four  barks  of 
from  fifty  to  seventy  tons  each,  in  search  of  a  strait 
through  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.  He  coasted  Honduras, 
the  Mosquito  coast,  Costa  Rica,  in  ships  honeycombed 
by  the  teredo ;  fancied  the  mines  of  Veragua  to  be  the 
Aurea  Chersonesus  of  Josephus ;  and  was  finally 
stranded  on  the  island  of  Jamaica,  where  twelve  months 
of  anxiety,  hunger,  thirst,  and  disease  were  spent. 

In  Hispaniola  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  natives 
had  perished  by  disease,  massacre,  or  the  bloodhound, 
during  the  first  twelve  years  of  colonization.  From 
visitors  from  heaven  the  Spaniards  had  soon  trans- 
formed themselves  into  demons  from  hell.  Licentious- 
ness, torture,  extortion,  the  fatal  repartimiento  or  distri- 
bution of  the  natives  among  the  ruffians  of  the  colony, 
did  their  work  but  too  effectually,  and  changed  these 


PJiASANT  OF  THE  ENVIRONS  OF  GRANADA 


I 


«l 


I 


V  / 


The   Companions  of  Columbus, 


375 


lovely  islands  into  dens  of  lasciviousness  and  death. 
From  the  beginning,  a  curse  lay  on  the  Latin  conquests 
in  the  New  World ;  conquests  accomplished  by  perfidy, 
cruelty,  and  lust. 

The  old  navigator  passed  away  in  1506;  Columbus 
died  as  he  had  lived,  a  devout  Catholic,  and  his  ashes, 
deposited  at  first  in  Valladolid,  then  in  Seville,  passed 
over  to  San  Domingo  in  1536  whence,  in  1796,  —  as 
has  been  lately  established  by  the  Spanish  Royal  Acad- 
emy of  History,  — they  were  transported  to  Havana. 

Thus  ended  the  career  of  the  great  poet  and  dis- 
coverer—perhaps so  great  a  discoverer  because  so 
richly  endowed  with  the  prophetic  instinct,  the  enthu- 
siasm, the  imaginative  vision  of  the  poet. 

Columbus's  companions  soon  greatly  developed  and 
extended  his  discoveries.  It  was  a  time  ''  fulfilled  with 
fairy ; "  the  attraction  toward  unknown  lands  was  irre- 
sistible. 

Vicente  Pinzon  discovered  the  La  Plata  river  in  1508  ; 
a  year  signalized  by  the  importation  of  negroes  into 
Hayti  (Hispaniola)  from  Guinea.  In  15  u,  Diego 
Columbus  effected  the  conquest  of  Cuba,  and  in  15 13 
Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  crossing  the  Isthmus  with 
dauntless  intrepidity,  cast  eyes  for  the  first  time  on  the 
enormous  sheet  of  the  Pacific  ocean. 

Ponce  de  Leon,  an  aged  Castilian  knight,  having 
heard  of  a  land  to  the  far  northwest,  where  tradition  said 
there  was  a  fountain  of  perpetual  youth,  sailed  thither- 
ward, and  coming  on  a  beautifully  sunny,  and  flowery 
coast,  dubbed  it,  after  the  day  (Pascua  Florida,  Palm 
Sunday)  on  which  it  was  discovered,  Florida. 

There    seemed  to    be   enterprises,  discoveries,    con- 


S76 


The  Spanish  Navigators. 


The  Mexico  of  the  Aztecs, 


877 


■ 


.|f, 


quests,  for  everybody  in  those  happy  times.  The  begin- 
ning of  the  reign  of  Charles  V.  was  illustrated  by  the 
discovery  (151 8)  of  the  coast  of  Mexico,  and  some 
years  later  of  Peru,  In  1521,  Magellan,  sailing  under 
the  Spanish  flag,  circumnavigated  South  America,  and 
passing  from  island  to  island,  came  upon  another  archi- 
pelago of  twelve  hundred  islands,  to  which  the  name  of 
Philippine  islands,  in  honor  of  Philip  II.,  was  after- 
wards given  —  an  archipelago  more  than  thirteen  hun- 
dred miles  in  length  and  eight  hundred  in  breadth,  a 
replica  of  the  exquisite  picturesqueness  and  fertility  of 
the  Caribbeean  group.  Volcanoes,  earthquakes,  hurri- 
canes, are  the  scourge  of  these  sunlit  latitudes,  whose 
prodigious  wealth  in  tropical  fruits,  ebony,  sandal-wood, 
spices,  dyes,  silver,  sulphur,  and  gold,  w^hose  unrivalled 
scenery  and  luxuriance,  whose  gorgeous  coloring,  popu- 
lation of  Papuas,  Malays,  Chinese  and  Spaniards,  and 
superstitions,  have  ever  since  offered  so  great  attractions 
to  the  merchant,  artist,  and  ethnologist. 

The  subjugation  of  the  Mexican  and  Peruvian  em- 
pires was  an  achievement  w^orthy  of  an  heroic  age. 
There  is  perhaps  nothing  in  fabulous  story  —  in  Iliad  or 
in  Nibelungenlied  —  which  quite  equals  the  deeds  of 
Hernando  Cortes  and  Francisco  Pizarro  —  the  one  a 
student  of  Salamanca,  the  other  so  ignorant  that  he 
could  neither  read  nor  write  his  own  name. 

Cortes's  commentaries  on  his  campaigns  have  been 
likened  to  Caesar's  ;  Pizarro's  dispatches  read  like  a 
romance.  Cortes's  achievement  was  the  more  remark- 
able of  the  two,  since  it  was  original  with  himself  and 
occurred  against  odds  so  overwhelming.  Pizarro  mod- 
elled himself  distinctly  after  Cortes,  even  to  the  very 


stratagem  by  which  the  empire  of  the  Incas  at  one  blow 
sank  in  ruins.     Here  the  parallelism  ceases,  for  Cortes 
was  a  man  of  genius,  reconstructing  what  he  had  de- 
stroyed,   legislating    serenely    and    successfully   amid 
intense    excitement,    renovating,    consolidating,    laying 
the  foundations  of  a  great  empire  again,  and  command- 
ing admiration  for  the  many  elements  of  nobility,  hero- 
ism, unselfishness,  and  administrative  skill  displayed  in 
his  character.     Pizarro  though  a  man  of  marked  ability, 
was  essentially  a  ruffian  by  birth,  a  foundling  from  an 
obscure  village  in  Estremadura,  who  died  by  the  hand 
of  the  assassin  in  the  great  country  he  had  conquered. 
The    timid,    caste-ridden,    enervated    Peruvians,    too, 
were  very  different  from  the  implacable  Aztecs,  the  san- 
guinary  Tlascalans,    and    the    acute    Tezcucans,    who 
hurled  their  thousands  against  Cortes's  little  band,  and 
struggled  impotently  to  cast  them  back  into  the  sea. 

The  Mexico  of  the  Aztecs  was  said  to  have  covered 
an  area  of  nearly  fifty  thousand  square  miles,  though 

the  part  with  which  we  are  immediately  concerned 

the  lake  district  — filled  an  area  of  only  about  sixteen 
hundred  square  miles,  the  size  of  Rhode  Island. 
Whether  the  inhabitants  of  the  Western  continent  were 
aboriginal;  whether  they  came  by  Behring's  straits 
from  the  Asiatic  coast,  or  crossed  hundreds  of  leagues 
of  sea  as  they  journeyed  from  island  to  island  of  the 
Pacific,  and  finally  landed  in  the  American  country,  or 
whether  an  ''Atlantis,"  now  submerged,  really  existed 
in  the  Atlantic,  whence  they  made  their  way  from  Eu- 
rope laboriously  thitherwards,  in  prehistoric  times,  are 
at  present  subjects  for  ingenious  though  fruitless  spec- 
ulation.   . 


w 


878 


Thp-  Spanish  Navigators. 


i 


I 

•J 


ii' 


i.ii 


The  country  of  Mexico,  like  Spain  itself,  is  a  system 
of  gigantic  terraces,  rising  from  the  gulf  to  an  exten- 
sive tableland  from  five  thousand  to  eight  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea,  and  culminating  in  the  cones  of 
Orizaba  and  Popocatepetl,  which  almost  cast  their 
shadows  over  the  city  of  Mexico.  Beneath  these 
mighty  volcanoes — which  tower  more  than  three  miles 
above  the  sea — lay  a  system  of  lakes  about  which  had 
gathered  a  population  of  some  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  souls,  cultivated  to  a  point  that  recalls  much 
of  what  we  know  of  ancient  Egypt  and  Assyria.  (Cor- 
tes frequently  gives  what  he  saw,  the  palm  of  superiority 
over  what  was  then  to  be  seen  in  contemporary  Europe.) 
The  naked  islanders  of  the  archipelago  were  here  re- 
placed by  a  well-organized  confederacy  of  races  com- 
posed of  the  descendants  of  seven  tribes  from  the 
north,  and  as  far  as  is  known,  without  communication 
with  the  other  great  sovereignty  of  the  south.  They 
possessed  a  considerable  degree  of  culture  when  Cor- 
tes, commanding  the  Armada  dispatched  by  Velasquez, 
governor  of  Cuba,  arrived  in  the  country  in  15 19. 
Dwelling  high  above  the  fever-smitten  swamps  of  the 
Warm  Land,  as  the  Atlantic  coast  was  called,  they  were 
a  race  bold,  hardy,  and  persevering;  a  hive  of  na- 
tions—  Toltecs,  Chichimecs,  Aztecs  or  Mexicans,  and 
Acolhuans  —  succeeding  or  conquering  one  another, 
variously  gifted,  and  busy  with  the  arts  of  an  almost 
civilized  community. 

It  will  be  impossible  to  enter  into  their  feuds,  tradi- 
tions and  coalitions  before  the  conquest,  therefore  only 
a  condensed  sketch  of  characteristic  customs  and  pecu- 
liarities will  be  attempted. 


BALCONIES  AT  GRANADA. 


nis 


TliP  Spa)iisli  Navigators. 


1 


The  country  of  Mexico,  like  Spain  itself,  is  a  system 
of  gigantic  terraces,  rising  from  the  gulf  to  an  exten- 
sive tableland  from  five  thousand  to  eight  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea,  and  culminating  in  the  cones  of 
Orizaba  and  Popocatepetl,  which  almost  cast  their 
shadows  over  the  city  of  Mexico.  Beneath  these 
mighty  volcanoes — which  tower  more  than  three  miles 
above  the  sea — lay  a  system  of  lakes  about  which  had 
gathered  a  population  of  some  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  souls,  cultivated  to  a  point  that  recalls  much 
of  what  we  know  of  ancient  Egypt  and  Assyria.  (Cor- 
tes frequently  gives  what  he  saw,  the  palm  of  superiority 
over  what  was  then  to  be  seen  in  contemporary  Europe.) 
The  naked  islanders  of  the  archipelago  were  here  re- 
placed by  a  well-organized  confederacy  of  races  com- 
posed of  the  descendants  of  seven  tribes  from  the 
north,  and  as  far  as  is  known,  without  communication 
with  the  other  great  sovereignty  of  the  south.  They 
possessed  a  considerable  degree  of  culture  when  Cor- 
tes, commanding  the  Armada  dispatched  by  Velasquez, 
governor  of  Cuba,  arrived  in  the  countr}-  in  15 19. 
Dwelling  high  above  the  fever-smitten  swamps  of  the 
Warm  Land,  as  the  Atlantic  coast  was  called,  they  were 
a  race  bold,  hardy,  and  persevering;  a  hive  of  na- 
tions—  Toltecs,  Chichimecs,  Aztecs  or  Mexicans,  and 
Acolhuans  —  succeeding  or  conquering  one  another, 
variously  gifted,  and  busy  with  the  arts  of  an  almost 
civilized  community. 

It  will  be  impossible  to  enter  into  their  feuds,  tradi- 
tions and  coalitions  before  the  conquest,  therefore  only 
a  condensed  sketch  of  characteristic  customs  and  pecu- 
liarities will  be  attempted. 


•'■'K-  ;.,*^^a«  ::  ,mmmm^. 


BALCONIES  AT  GRANADA. 


«WtH»-,jrV^»i^^3G.riief«     ^-^{ISSaSKS^K^.^S^^MisW-I 


.3 


Nl 


r., 


m 


The  Aztec  Community. 


381 


Entirely  false  notions  have  hitherto  prevailed  with 
regard  to  the  Aztec  community,  now  fortunately  almost 
entirely  removed  by  the  valuable  researches  of  Morgan* 
and  Bandelier.t     These  researches  have  shown  incon- 
trovertibly  that  in  a  European  sense  there  was  neither 
a  state,  a  nation,  nor   a   political  society  of  any  kind 
in  aboriginal  Mexico.     The    Spaniards  found   there  a 
varied  population,  divided  into  tribes  speaking  various 
languages,  each  tribe  autonomous  in  matters  of  govern- 
ment, and  occasionally  forming   confederacies  for  pur- 
poses   of    self-defence    and    conquest.      The    ancient 
Mexicans   as   typical    of    this    aboriginal    constitution, 
have   been    shown  to   be    an    organic  body,  composed 
of    twenty   consanguine    groups    or    kins,    voluntarily 
associated  for  purposes  of  mutual  protection  and  sub- 
sistence.    This  social  organization,  so  far  from  exhibit- 
ing the   complex   conditions   of    a  feudal   state,  as  it 
appeared  to   the   excited  Spaniards,  and   as   it  is  de- 
scribed   in    the    current    histories,    was   a    democratic 
body;    each   of    the   kins   was   governed    by   its   own 
strictly  elective  officers  subject  to  removal  at  the  pleas- 
ure of  their  constituents ;  the  associated  kins,  for  their 
mutual  benefit,  had  delegated  their  powers  to  transact 
business  without  to  a  council  of  the  tribe,  in  which  each 
consanguine  group  or  kin  was  represented  by  one  mem- 
ber; the  execution  of  the  decrees  of  this  council  was 
left  to  elective  officers,  whose  powers  were  limited  to 
military  command,  and  whom  the  tribe  might  depose  at 

♦Ancient  Society,  pp.  186-214. 

t  Social  Organization  and  Mode  of  Government,  Art  of  Warfare 
and  Mode  of  Warfare,  and  Distribution  and  Tenure  of  lands  of  the 
Ancient  Mexicans ;  three  extremely  important  treatises  published 
in  1877,  '78  and  '79  by  the  American  Archaeological  Association. 


•  n^-ir-sBa  (ftsas--*^:^ 


382 


The  Spanish  Navigator^, 


Ahorigmal  Life  in  Mexico, 


383 


.. 


,. 


Ilr 


•s 


■ :  W^ 


\V' 


pleasure;  these  officers  with  the  exception  of  certain 
inferior  positions,  could  not  appoint  others  to  office, 
not  even  their  assistants  of  high  rank ;  the  dignity  of 
chief,  such  as  Montezuma  held,  so  far  from  being  the 
prerogative  of  hereditary  nobility,  was  simply  a  reward 
of  merit,  carrying  with  it  no  other  privileges  than  per- 
sonal consideration  and  a  more  or  less  distinctive  cos- 
tume;  and  the  final  result  of  the  last  scrutiny  into 
Mexican  "  civilization "  is,  that  it  was  the  result  of  a 
social  organization  based  upon  a  military  democracy, 
itself  originally  based  upon  community  of  living,  and 
consanguineous  relationship. 

Such  conclusions,  of  course,  entirely  overthrow  the 
fictitious  "elective  monarchy"  of  the  English  and 
Spanish  historians;  the  terminology  of  feudal  Europe 
was  unhappily  applied  to  the  misunderstood  League  of 
the  Lake  ;  and  a  so-called  "  Kingdom  of  Mexico  "  and 
"  Empire  of  the  Aztecs  "  was  the  result. 

Cortes  found  in  the  valley  of  Mexico  the  famous 
Nahuatl  confederacy,  composed  of  the  three  tribes 
called  Aztecs  or  Mexicans,  Tezcucans,  and  Tlacopans. 
The  Aztecs  were  one  of  seven  kindred  tribes  from  the 
north  that  had  settled  in  and  near  the  valley  of  Mexico. 
These  seven  tribes  were,  i.  the  Sochimilcas,  or  Nation 
of  the  Seeds  of  Flowers;  2.  the  Chalcas,  or  People  of 
Mouths ;  3.  the  Tepanecans,  or  People  of  the  Bridge ; 
4.  the  Culhuas,  or  Crooked  People;  5.  the  Tlatluicans, 
or  Men  of  the  Sierra ;  6.  the  Tlascalans,  or  Men  of 
Bread ;  and  7.  the  Aztecs,  who  came  last  and  occupied 
the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Mexico.  They  founded 
the  celebrated  pueblo  of  Mexico  about  a.  d.  1325, 
which  is  supposed  to  have  contained  about  thirty  thou- 
sand inhabitants  at  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Cortes. 


A 


In  1426  the  Aztec  confederacy,  composed  of  the  Aztecs 
and  the  overthrown  Tezcucans  and  Tlacopans,  was 
formed  ;  a  league  or  confederacy  of  offence  and  defence, 
with  the  Aztecs  at  the  head. 

Several  points  of  great  interest  have  been  settled  as 
to  certain  features  of  aboriginal  life  in  ancient  Mexico. 
It  is  now  known  that  the  ancient  Mexicans,  and  presum- 
ably their  tribal  kindred,  had  no  notion  of  abstract 
ownership  of  the  soil  either  by  a  nation,  or  state,  the 
head  of  the  government  or  by  individuals. 

As  each  tribe   had  as  its  unit  of  organization,  the 
consanguine  groups  or  kins  before- mentioned,  so' pos- 
sessory rights  were  vested  in  them  as  a  community,  with 
no  conception  of  sale,  barter,  conveyance  or  alienation 
of  any  kind.     Individuals  had    only  the  right  to  use 
certain  definite  lots  for  their  maintenance,  a  right  hered- 
itary in  the  male  line,  yet  limited  to  the  conditions  of 
residence  within  the  area  held  by  the  kin,  and  of  culti- 
vation either  by  or  in  the  name  of  him  to  whom  these 
lots  were  assigned.     Neither  Montezuma  nor  any  of  his 
chieftains  or  officers  had  property  rights  individually, 
except  as  he  belonged  to  a  certain  kin,  when  he  had 
the  use  of  a  certain  lot  which  could  be  rented  or  farmed 
for  his  benefit.     There  were  certain  lots  set  aside  as 
official  lands,  out  of  which  public  hospitality,  the  require- 
ments of  tribal  business,  the  governmental  features  of 
the  kin,  and  the  official  households  were  supplied  and 
sustained ;  but  both  the  lands  and  their  products  were 
independent  of  the  persons  or  families  of   the  chiefs 
themselves. 

Again,  the  conquest  of  a  neighboring  tribe  by  the 
Mexicans,  was  not  followed  by  territorial  annexation  or 


384 


The  Spanish  Navigators, 


Mexicaji  Religion. 


385 


1      \ 

■i 

by  distribution  of  its  lands  among  the  conquerors. 
The  Mexicans  simply  exacted  tribute,  which  was  paid 
from  the  produce  of  special  lands  set  aside  for  that 
purpose.  And  finally  neither  a  military  despotism  nor 
the  principle  and  institution  of  feudality  existed  among 
the  aboriginal  Mexicans. 

The  pueblo  of  Mexico  was  divided  into  four  wards, 
constituted  out  of  four  groups  of  related  people,  each 
autonomous  and  each  with  its  own  chief  and  its  own 
communal  organization.  Montezuma  was  simply  the 
elective  war-chief  of  the  four  wards,  his  election  was 
sanctioned  by  the  confederated  tribes,  and  he  had  asso- 
ciated with  him  a  dignitary  called  the  "  Snake  woman," 
or  supreme  advisor  of  the  tribe.  The  Mexicans  had 
neither  invented  nor  developed  monarchical  institutions. 
Montezuma's  title  was  Teuctli,  or  war  chief ;  in  the 
council  of  chiefs,  elected  by  bodies  of  kindred  to  advise 
with  him,  he  was  sometimes  called  Tlatoani,  or  speaker. 
In  other  words,  he  was  neither  king  nor  emperor,  but 
simply  general.  The  office  held  by  him  was  hereditary 
in  a  gens,  was  given  by  the  gens  to  the  worthiest  brother 
or  nephew  of  a  dead  chief,  was  ratified  by  the  four  di- 
visions or  phratries  of  the  Aztecs,  and  then  by  the  Tez- 
cucans  and  Tlacopans  acting  through  their  representa- 
tives. The  magniloquence  of  the  Spaniards  made  of 
him  an  absolute  potentate. 

A  judicial  system  existed  ;  murder,  adultery,  bribery, 
stealing,  drunkenness,  and  extravagance  were  punisha 
ble  with  death.  Polygamy  and  slavery  flourished. 
Taxes  were  laid  on  all  objects  of  luxury.  Granaries 
and  warehouses  for  the  reception  of  the  tributes  dotted 
the   country.     Couriers,   trained    to    travel    with   great 


swiftness,  carried  hieroglyphical  letters  from  one  end  of 
the  country  to  the  other.  Montezuma,  it  is  said,  though 
he  lived  two  hundred  miles  from  the  coast,  had  fish 
from  the  gulf  on  his  table,  twenty-four  hours  after  they 
were  caught.  The  wars  of  the  aborigines  were  largely 
religious  j  they  had  insignia  of  honor  for  those  who  dis- 
tinguished themselves;  they  used  feather  armor;  cuir- 
asses of  gold  or  silver ;  and  gorgeous  tribal  standards 
embroidered  in  gold  and  feather-work  ;  and  their  military 
organization  though  complicated,  was  free. 

The  religion  of  the  Mexicans  required  human  sacri- 
fices eighteen  times  a  year,  attended  by  cannibalism  ; 
deities  in  profusion  formed  their  hierarchy,  with  a  fan- 
tastic and  sanguinary  monster,   Huitzilopotchli,  Hum- 
ming-bird-on-the-left-foot,  the  God  of  war,  at  the  head. 
Quetzalcoatl,  a  beneficent  God,  who  taught  them  metal- 
work,  agriculture,  and  the  science  of  government,  and 
who  typified  the  Anahuac  golden  age,  counter-balanced 
this  bloody  deity.     The   people  had  mystical  expecta- 
tions connected  with  the  east,  out  of  which  their  benev- 
olent  deity  was    to   come    again  and    bring  back    the 
"  Saturnia  regna  "  of  ancient  times.     Everlasting  dark- 
ness, eternal   light,   and   a   neutral    limbo   of  negative 
contentment  for  those  who  had  died  of  certain  diseases, 
formed  a  cluster  of  beliefs  connected  with  their  notions 
of  immortality  curiously  recalling  the  system  of  Ma- 
homet.    The   sun  was   the  luminary  around  which   the 
spirits   of    the  blest  danced;  then  clouds  and  bright- 
plumaged  singing  birds  received  them  in  a  perpetual 
intoxication  of  sense.     At  the  naming  of  children,  a 
ceremony  resembling  baptism  took  place.     Their  relig- 
ious observances  were  imposing;  numbers   of   priests 


»>'«e»°ft»>.L-'>i»»»-*.i!'.'iaM»i>i»i 


$i 


■i    ■ 


386 


The  Spanish  Navigators. 


Aztec  Customs, 


38" 


1 1 


ministered  at  the  fire-crowned  temples,  which,  rising  in 
pyramidal  terraces,  approached  the  Egyptian  pyramids 
in  form  and  magnitude.  The  temples  were  great  schools 
where  the  youth  were  educated  ;  the  priests  could  marry, 
though  they  had  to  practise  great  austerity  at  certain 
seasons.  Rites  resembling  confession  and  absolution 
formed  a  part  of  their  ritual.  Large  tracts  of  land 
supported  the  church  establishment.  Singing  and 
dancing  alternated  in  their  ceremonial  with  horrible 
mutilation  of  hecatombs  of  human  victims,  whose  hearts 
were  torn  out,  and  in  some  cases,  it  is  said,  were  cast 
in  thousands  smoking  on  the  altars  of  sacrifice.  Along 
with  this  went  a  singular  refinement  in  their  love  of 
flowers. 

The  Aztec  system  of  hieroglyphics  —  the  key  to 
which  is  now  unfortunately  lost  —  showed  considerable 
ingenuity  and  culture.  With  some  of  these  hieroglyph- 
ics were  associated  phonetic  signs,  though  their  em- 
ployers seem  to  have  laid  most  stress  on  actual  pictorial 
representation  of  the  object  described.  Laws,  tribute- 
rolls,  calendars,  rituals,  political  annals,  chronological 
systems,  were  claimed  to  be  stored  up  in  these  hiero- 
glyphics, which  were  swiftly  and  skilfully  painted  on 
cotton  cloth,  skins,  aloe-paper  or  a  composition  of  silk 
and  gum.  Spanish  superstition  and  abhorrence  of 
necromancy  caused  the  destruction  of  the  greater  part 
of  these  invaluable  records — for  they  associated  dev- 
ilish arts  and  demoniacal  devices  with  the  characters  in 
which  these  "manuscripts"  were  written.  Thus,  prob- 
ably, have  hopelessly  perished  nearly  all  the  traces  of 
the  literature  of  these  nations,  if  thev  had  one. 

They  excelled  in  jugglery  and  physical  sleight ;  but 


their  attainments  in  mathematics  give  them  a  claim  to 
recognition  as  rivals,  in  a  certain  sense,  of  the  Europeans. 
They  seem  to  have  had  methods  of  indicating  square 
and  cube  roots,  fractions,  and  integers,  little  inferior  to 
those  used  by  the  great  mathematicians  of  antiquity 
before  the  Arabic  ciphers  were  introduced.  Their 
astronomical  system  was  exact,  and  it  was  found  on  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards  that  their  method  of  comput- 
ing time  was  eleven  days  nearer  the  true  time  tlian  that 
of  their  conquerors. 

Their  year  consisted  of  eigh'teen  months,  of  twenty 
days  each,  with  five  intercalary  days  to  make  up  the 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five,  and  at  intervals  of  fifty- 
two  years  they  added  twelve  days  and  a  half  to  account 
for  the  annual  excess  of  nearly  six  hours  in  the  calen- 
dar. It  is  said  that  they  came  within  an  inappreciable 
fraction  of  the  exact  length  of  the  tropical  year  as 
established  by  the  most  accurate  observations. 

They  were  acquainted  with  the  cause  of  eclipses  and 
with  the  use  of  the  sun-dial ;  adjusted  their  festivals  by 
the  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies  ;  and  kindled  their 
sacred  fires  anew  every  fifty-two  years  by  the  friction  of 
sticks  placed  on  the  wounded  breast  of  sacrificial  victims. 
The  Aztec  husbandry  evinced  much  intelligence,  for 
it  alternated  years  in  the  crops,  irrigated,  cherished  for- 
estry, and  stored  up  harvests  in  granaries.  The  banana, 
the  chocolate-plant,  and  the  maize  were  cultivated. 
They  made  sugar  out  of  the  Indian-corn  stalks,  intoxi- 
cating drinks  out  of  grain  and  the  aloe-plant,  and  main- 
tained semblances  of  zoological  and  botanical  gardens. 
Their  curious  and  fantastically  carved  emeralds  and 
amethysts;  their  metal-work  in  gold  and  silver,  their 


tmmmimi»*"iii<^ 


388 


The  Spanish  Navlyators. 


knives,  razors,  and  sword-blades  of  obsidian ;  their 
sculptured  images,  bas-reliefs,  and  calendar-stone ;  their 
painted  cups  and  vases,  mineral  and  vegetable  dye- 
stuffs,  and  brilliant-colored  woven  tissues  of  cotton, 
rabbit-hair,  and  feather-work,  all  showed  much  knowl- 
edge of  the  mechanical  arts. 

They  had  great  market-places  where  trade  and  traffic, 
by  barter  and  by  a  sort  of  currency,  were  carried  on 
with  strict  justice.  Transparent  quills  of  gold-dust ;  T- 
shaped  bits  of  tin,  and  grains  of  cacao  in  bags  consti- 
tuted their  money.  Ot  iron  they  had  no  knowledge. 
The  cities  were  divided  among  the  various  trade-guilds ; 
the  life  of  the  merchant-spy  w^as  esteemed  highly  honor- 
able ;  and  slave-dealing  had  no  disgrace  attached  to  it. 

The  domestic  manners  of  the  Aztecs  were  rather  re- 
fined. The  official  classes  were  said  to  dine  in  com- 
munal halls  among  odoriferous  herbs  (performing  their 
ablutions  before  and  after  meals).  Perfumed  tobacco, 
smoked  in  tortoise-shell  or  silver  tubes,  was  esteemed  a 
great  after-dinner  luxury  ;  and  their  tables  were  loaded 
with  rude  gold  and  silver  vases  and  dishes,  in  which  a 
variety  of  barbaric  spiced  viands,  *'  pastry  "  and  "  con- 
fectionery "  was  served.  (Morgan,*  however,  in  his  dis- 
cussion of  "  Montezuma's  Dinner,"  has  sufficiently 
shown  that  we  must  not  place  too  implicit  confidence  in 
the  swelling  descriptions  of  Spanish  adventurers  on 
this  point.)  Dancing,  singing  of  plaintive  legendary 
ballads,  and  instrumental  music  closed  their  entertain- 
ments. 

Such  is  a  silhouette  of  the  so-called  empire  of  Mon- 
tezuma. 

*  North  American  Review,  April,  1S77. 


'>-'' AX  A^  A  ■*  J.^  A^  A4  V  \J% 


388 


The  Spanish  Xavlyatnn<. 


t  ■< 


knives,  razors,  and  sword-blades  of  obsidian ;  their 
sculptured  images,  bas-reliefs,  and  calendar-stone  ;  their 
painted  cups  and  vases,  mineral  and  vegetable  d3^e- 
stuffs,  and  brilliant-colored  woven  tissues  of  cotton, 
rabbit-hair,  and  feather-work,  all  showed  much  knowl- 
edge of  the  mechanical  arts. 

They  had  great  market-places  where  trade  and  traffic, 
by  barter  and  by  a  sort  of  currency,  were  carried  on 
with  strict  justice.  Transparent  quills  of  gold-dust ;  T- 
shaped  bits  of  tin,  and  grains  of  cacao  in  bags  consti- 
tuted their  money.  Ol  iron  they  had  no  knowledge. 
The  cities  were  divided  among  the  various  trade-guilds ; 
the  life  of  the  merchant-spy  \vas  esteemed  highly  honor- 
able ;  and  slave-dealing  had  no  disgrace  attached  to  it. 

The  domestic  manners  of  the  Aztecs  were  rather  re- 
fined. The  official  classes  were  said  to  dine  in  com- 
munal halls  among  odoriferous  herbs  (performing  their 
ablutions  before  and  after  meals).  Perfumed  tobacco, 
smoked  in  tortoise-shell  or  silver  tubes,  was  esteemed  a 
great  after-dinner  luxury  ;  and  their  tables  were  loaded 
with  rude  gold  and  silver  vases  and  dishes,  in  which  a 
variety  of  barbaric  spiced  viands,  "  pastry  "  and  '•  con- 
fectionerv  "  was  served.  (Morofan.*  however,  in  his  dis- 
cussion  of  "Montezuma's  Dinner,"  has  sufficiently 
shown  that  we  must  not  place  too  implicit  confidence  in 
the  swelling  descriptions  of  Spanish  adventurers  on 
this  point.)  Dancing,  singing  of  plaintive  legendary 
ballads,  and  instrumental  music  closed  their  entertain- 
ments. 

Such  is  a  silhouette  of  the  so-called  empire  of  Mon- 
tezuma. 

*  North  American  Review,  April,  1877. 


^itiJhiNlb       Oi.i\i:-.>^il^l*\U. 


»-^?gv  va 


•■  ^•ir-3-_"~'as?^-?"^r»jsr"! 


CorUs  in  Mexico. 


391 


Cortes,  had  he  not  burnt  his  ships,  allied  himself  with 
the  fierce  republic  of  Tlascala,  which  was  the  deadly 
foe  of  Montezuma,  and  taken  advantage  of  the  discords 
then  rending  this  powerful  democracy,  would  never 
have  succeeded  in  his  perilous  undertaking.  His  two 
masterstrokes  —  the  conciliation  of  the  Tlascalans  and 
the  seizure  of  Montezuma  —  aided  by  his  horses  and 
fire- arms,  which  inspired  dread ;  by  accomplished  sub- 
alterns like  Sandoval  and  Alvarado  ;  and  by  his  own 
cheerful  and  dauntless  pluck  —  enabled  him  with  a  few 
hundred  Spaniards  and  many  thousand  Tlascalans  to 
overrun  the  country  in  about  two  years  (15 19-152 1). 

This  is  no  place  to  enter  into  the  details  of  the  hor- 
rors accompanying  the  conquest,  the  gloom  of  the  Noche 
Triste  so  famous  for  its  disaster  to  the  Spaniards,  when 
they  were  driven  out  of  the  city,  the  siege  of  Mexico, 
and  the  beautiful  and  touching  episode  of  Montezuma's 
captivity  and  death.  Every  outrage  that  could  be  com- 
mitted was  committed  by  the  conquerors  despite  the 
enlightened  policy  of  their  commander,  which  was  to 
conciliate  rather  than  to  irritate.  Perhaps  there  is  no 
siege  recorded  in  history  more  unparalleled  than  the 
siege  of  the  city  of  Mexico ;  and  certainly,  few  charac- 
ters more  heroic  than  that  of  the  unfortunate  Guate- 
mozin. 

Cortes  extended  his  reputation  afterward  by  the  dis- 
covery of  the  gulf  of  California  in  1537. 

The  conquest  of  the  empire  of  the  Incas  in  1531,  in 
little  more  than  a  year,  was  an  achievement  second 
only  to  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  in  glory  and  in  far- 
reaching  results.  Balboa's  great  discovery  —  swiftly 
followed   as  it  was  by  his  tragical   death  —  remained 


/ 


392 


The  Spanish  Navigators. 


The  Land  of  the  Incas, 


393 


unutilized  nearly  twenty  years.  In  15 19  the  city  of 
Panama  was  founded  on  the  Pacific  side  of  the  isthmus, 
and  from  that  time,  rumors  of  a  mighty  empire  to  the 
south  filled  the  air  and  roused  the  Spanish  imagination, 
already  exalted  by  the  wonderful  events  in  Mexico,  to 
realize  its  dreams  in  further  explorations. 

But  it  was  not  until  1526  that  the  celebrated  contract 
for  the  conquest  of  Peru  was  signed  by  the  two  adven- 
turers, Pizarro  and  Almagro,  and  the  ecclesiastic  De 
Luque,  by  whom  chiefly,  with  little  aid  from  the  Span- 
ish government,  this  memorable  enterprise  was  eifected. 
Several  preliminary  expeditions,  pregnant  with  disaster, 
suffering,  and  final  success,  were  undertaken  by  these 
men,  who  rambled  with  their  soldiers  through  impene- 
trable forests,  encountered  starvation,  tempest,  and 
death  by  sea  and  by  land,  and  at  length,  sailing  into 
serener  latitudes,  came  suddenly  upon  the  fair)^-land  of 
the  brilliant  Incas,  and  stood,  as  it  were,  enthralled 
before  an  opulence  and  culture  hitherto  unimagined. 
Another  problematic  civilization  sprang  up  before  them, 
remote  from  all  association,  hedged  in  by  boundless  for- 
ests on  the  one  side,  and  by  boundless  seas  on  the  other, 
characterized  by  a  refinement,  splendor,  and  orderliness, 
superior  in  many  respects  to  the  Aztec.  The  immediate 
wealth  flowing  from  this  conquest  was  much  greater  than 
that  produced  by  the  conquest  of  Mexico  ;  and  from  this 
time  on  the  mines  of  Peru  began  to  pour  that  silver  tor- 
rent into  the  coffers  of  Spain  which  seemed  inexhaustible. 
This  great  empire  extended  north  and  south  through 
thirty-nine  degrees  of  latitude,  embracing  probably  the 
states  which  are  now  known  as  Ecuador,  Peru,  Bolivia, 
and  Chili.     The  country  is  traversed  by  the  enormous 


backbone  of  the  Cordilleras.  It  was  covered  with  towns 
and  villages ;  Hamas  innumerable — the  sheep  of  the  coun- 
try —  wandered  over  its  heights  ;  gardens,  settlements, 
farms,  nestled  among  the  terraces  and  precipices  of  the 
stupendous  volcanoes.  The  natives  were  found  to  be 
under  the  rule  of  Incas  or  lords,  who  traced  their  de- 
scent from  the  sun.  Cuzco  was  the  royal  residence  ;  a 
city  situated  in  a  beautiful  valley,  filled  with  solid  struc- 
tures of  every  description,  squares,  public  places,  above 
all,  the  noble  temple  of  the  sun  blazing  with  gold  and 
jewels.  Powerful  fortresses  were  scattered  through  the 
country,  built  of  enormous  stones  adjusted  with  skill. 

The  succession  in  this  empire  was  hereditary,  and 
the  queen  was  at  once  sister  and  wife  to  the  Inca. 
Military  schools  were  maintained,  where  the  youth  were 
carefully  educated  in  all  warlike  and  manly  exercises. 
The  "  Children  of  the  Sun  "  among  them,  were  dis- 
tinguished by  huge  pendants  of  gold  hung  from  the 
ear,  which  stretched  the  lobe  to  such  an  extent  that  it 
became  a  frightful  disfigurement.  The  ceremonies  by 
which  members  of  the  royal  family  were,  as  it  were, 
authenticated  and  recognized  as  belonging  to  the  Inca 
race,  closely  resembled  those  attending  the  initiation  of 
Christian  knights  in  the  feudal  ages. 

The  government  was  despotic ;  the  Inca  wore  a  dress 
radiant  with  gold  and  precious  stones,  a  wreathed  tur- 
ban of  many-colored  folds,  and  plumes.  Blazing  with 
emeralds  and  ornaments  he  was  borne  in  his  solemn 
progresses  through  the  kingdom  in  a  litter,  on  the 
shoulders  of  men.  There  were  magnificent  roads  ex- 
tending from  one  end  of  the  kingdom  to  the  other, 
along  which  inns  were  established  for  halting-places. 


394 


The  Spanish  Navigators. 


ii 


Immense  palaces  at  various  points  jj?  his  dominions, 
received  the  monarch  in  his  many  journeys  —  structures 
of  stone,  with  roofs  of  wood  or  rushes,  gorgeously  dec- 
orated within  with  images  of  animals  and  plants 
wrought  in  gold  and  silver,  utensils  of  the  same,  and 
hangings  of  exquisite  texture  and  color,  made  of  the 
delicate  Peruvian  wool. 

We  are  told  of  subterranean  channels  of  silver  bear- 
ing water  into  basins  of  gold  for  the  baths  of  the  Incas  ; 
groves  and  gardens  filled  with  countless  plants  and 
flowers ;  parterres  of  vegetable  products  skilfully  imi- 
tated in  the  precious  metals  ;  palaces  in  the  cool  Sierras 
recalling  all  that  we  have  read  in  Ariosto  or  Spenser. 

At  the  death  of  the  Inca,  palaces,  furniture,  apparel, 
treasures,  all  were  left  to  decay  in  strange  ruin.  Human 
blood  flowed  in  torrents  on  his  tomb  ;  his  disembowelled 
remains  were  embalmed,  and,  arrayed  in  splendid  attire, 
were  placed  in  a  golden  chair  and  deposited  in  the  great 
temple  of  the  sun  at  Cuzco. 

The  nobility  had  a  distinguishing  dress,  dialect,  and 
prerogative.  The  priests  and  generals  came  from  their 
order.  They  were  nearly  all  more  or  less  related  to 
the  Inca  blood,  and  hence  gave  to  the  royal  family  great 
strength  and  stability  by  their  support. 

The  nation  called  itself  "the  four  quarters  of  the 
world,"  the  name  Peru  or  "  river  "  having  been  given 
by  the  Spaniards,  it  is  said,  through  a  mistake.  Hence 
the  capital  and  the  kingdom  were  in  the  same  manner 
divided  into  four  parts. 

A  complicated  social  organization  existed,  suggestive 
of  a  peculiar  and  original  people.  The  provisions  for 
justice  were  as  elaborate  as  among  the  Mexicans.     Se- 


„-^^!^<-. 


^t- 


\ 


e-v^ 


X^-ni  ah 


TOMB   OF   FERDINANi 


-='"-'^r-^--:- 


>iil.LA    IN    THE    CA'l 


wF    iiKAiNAi>A. 


^ 


The  Times  of  the  Incas. 


397 


u 


^Wm-s 


i  , 


i 

-I 


vere  laws,  repressed  crime.  The  Sun,  the  Inca,  and  the 
people  divided  the  territory  equally  among  them.  The 
multitudinous  priesthood  and  the  costly  ceremonial  of 
the  religious  establishment,  absorbed  much  both  of  land 
and  treasure.  The  household,  kindred,  and  govern- 
ment of  the  Inca  likewise  involved  great  expenditure. 
The  soil  put  aside  for  the  people  was  annually  re-dis- 
tributed in  certain  allotments,  on  the  basis  of  an  in- 
creased or  diminished  family,  so  that  every  man  had  a 
portion  of  the  soil  and  became  virtually  its  proprietor 
for  life.  The  Sun  lands  and  the  Inca's  lands  were  first 
cultivated  by  the  people  ;  then  the  lands  belonging  to  the 
infirm  and  the  widows ;  then  their  own  lands.  Agricul- 
ture was  diligently  attended  to,  and  the  numerous  flocks 
of  llamas  were  nurtured  with  sagacity.  The  spinning 
and  weaving  were  all  done  by  the  families,  who  received 
due  portions  of  wool  to  be  wrought  up  for  themselves 
and  for  the  Incas. 

Registers  of  births  and  deaths  were  kept ;  the  census 
was  taken ;  surveys  of  the  lands  with  their  mineral 
and  agricultural  resources  made;  and  different  prov- 
inces were  assigned  to  different  industries  —  mining, 
metal-working,  and  the  like.  Huge  magazines  of  stone 
received  and  stored  up  the  surplus  products  —  maize, 
coca,  wool,  cotton,  copper,  silver,  and  gold.  Mendi- 
cancy was  forbidden  ;  public  charity  was  generously 
shown  the  sick  and  unfortunate  ;  and  idleness  was  a 
crime.  Poverty  and  wealth  seemed  equally  banished 
from  this  remarkable  realm,  whose  guiding  principle 
was  passive  obedience  to  the  sway  of  the  divinely-de- 
scended ruler. 

The  country  abounded  in  great  public  works  —  aque- 


■I'AiiiS'/uipw 


398 


The  Spanish  Navigators. 


lu 


^- 


I 


ducts,  roads,  fortresses,  temples,  palaces,  and  terraces 
—  whose  ruins  to-day  excite  admiration  for  their  gran- 
deur and  massiveness.     Suspension-bridges  were  thrown 
across  the  rivers  and  vast  engineering  difficulties  sur- 
mounted in  the  construction  of  the  great  road  which  was 
said  to  be  over  fifteen  hundred  miles  long,  from  twelve  to 
twenty  feet  wide,  flagged  with  freestone,  and  supported 
on  solid  masonry,  where  masonry  was  necessary.     An- 
other road  traversed  the  region  between  the  ocean  and 
the  Andes,  which  was  parapeted,  lined  by  shade-trees, 
crossed     causeways,    threw    light     suspension-bridges 
woven  of  cables  of  aloe-fibre  over  rivers  and  streams, 
and  was  bordered  every  twelve  miles  by  inns.     Hum- 
boldt was  justified  in  saying  that  the  ruins  of  this  great 
road  might  for  beauty  be  compared  with  the  finest  he 
had  seen  in  Italy,  France,  or  Spain,  and  was  one  of  the 
most   useful    as  well   as   stupendous  works   ever  con- 
structed by  the  hand  of  man. 

Posts  for  communication  with  various  parts  of  the 
empire  existed,  at  intervals  of  five  miles,  along  the  great 
roads,  and  dispatches  forwarded  by  couriers  dressed  in 
livery,  could  be  sent  a  distance  of  a  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  a  day.  Connected  with  this  was  a  package-post 
for  game,  fruit,  fish,  and  the  necessaries  and  luxuries  of 
life,  chiefly  for  the  benefit  of  the  nobles.  Hence  the 
ease  with  which  news  could  be  brought,  insurrectionary 
movements  crushed,  and  troops  concentrated  in  any  part 
of  the  empire,  on  short  notice. 

A  force  of  two  hundred  thousand  men,  armed  with 
bows  and  arrows,  slings,  lances,  darts,  short-swords  and 
battle-axes,  dressed  in  the  costumes  peculiar  to  each 
province,   headed   by   the   brilliant-plumed,   sparkling- 


f 


Religion  under  the  Incas, 


399 


casqued  Inca  generals,  and  overshadowed  by  the  reful- 
gent device  of  the  rainbow,  could  be  readily  brought 
into  the  field  —  more  closely  resembling  a  resplendent 
procession  winding  among  the  defiles  of  the  Andes, 
than  an  army  terrible  with  banners. 

Clemency  was  characteristic  of  the  Inca  conquerors; 
religious  toleration  was  recognized  among  them  —  pro- 
vided that  their  great  luminary-god  were  acknowledged 
as  supreme ;  the  conquered   princes  were  removed   to 
the  capital  and  their  people  admitted  into  a  sort  of  cit- 
izenship;   they  were  compelled  to  learn  the   Quiclma 
language,   which  was  the  language  of   the  court  and 
capital ;  and  in  cases  of  doubtful  loyalty  the  inhabitants 
of  conquered  provinces  were  removed  in  thousands  to 
other  parts  of  the  empire,  and  their  place  supplied  by 
loyal  citizens.     Residence  could  not  be  changed  without 
license  ;  and  in  the  case  of  compulsory  removal,  a  con- 
genial climate  was  selected  for  the  emigrants. 

History  presents  few  examples  of  a  nation  so  consol- 
idated and  systematized,  so  controlled  from  the  germ 
by  a  sagacious  and  harmonious  principle,  so  logically 
developed  by  the  policy  of  successive  Incas.  A  com- 
mon religion,  a  common  language,  and  a  common  gov- 
ernment thus  resulted  in  no  jangling  confederation  of 
jarring  nationalities,  but  in  a  powerful,  homogeneous, 
and  civilized  community  habituated  to  obedience  and 
attached  to  its  own  institutions. 

Religion  was  never  more  pompously  enshrined  than 
in  the  Peruvian  "  Houses  of  the  Sun,"  especially  in  the 
renowned  temple  of  Cuzco.  A  massive,  sunlike, 
golden  plate  of  enormous  dimensions  was  said  to  catch 
the  morning  sun  before  the  eastern  portal,  and  scat- 


...^^riSB^ 


I 


1 


»'' 


V: 


\' 


400 


The  Spanish  Navigators, 


ter  it  in  innumerable  rays  before  the  temple.  The 
interior  of  the  temple  was  one  effulgence  of  gold  and 
precious  stones — golden  friezes,  cornices,  walls,  and 
ceilings.  A  chapel  dedicated  to  the  moon,  lustrous  with 
the  pearly  radiance  of  burnished  silver,  contrasted  in  its 
silvery  spirituality  with  the  golden  glory  prodigally 
claimed  by  the  sun. 

An  island  in  Lake  Titicaca  contained  the  most  vener- 
ated of  these  sun-temples  ;  for  hence  proceeded,  said 
tradition,  the  founders  of  the  Peruvian  line,  and  here 
the  ancient  monuments  of  their  civilization  are  still  to 
be  seen  in  part.  The  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  the  thunder, 
lightning,  and  rainbow,  were  the  peculiar  objects  of 
adoration. 

We  are  told  that  the  great  vases  of  Indian  corn,  the 
perfume-censers,  the  ewers  and  pipes  connected  with 
the  great  temple  were  of  gold,  while  the  gardens  spar- 
kled with  flowers  and  golden-fleeced  llamas  of  the 
same  costly  material. 

The  festivals  and  national  solemnities  were  conducted 
with  barbaric  pomp.  Cannibalism  was  suppressed  and 
human  sacrifices  lessened  in  numbers  by  the  Incas. 
They  used  concave  mirrors  for  kindling  their  sacred 
lire,  which  was  then  cherished  by  the  Virgins  of  the 
Sun,  an  institution  analogous  to  that  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  nuns  or  the  Vestals  of  antiquity.  These  vir- 
gins lived  in  nunneries,  and  were  destined  not  to  eter- 
nal celibacy,  but,  as  brides  of  the  sun,  became  concu- 
bines of  the  Inca. 

Schools  existed ;  language,  laws,  religious  rites,  and 
rudimentary  science  were  taught;  and  records  were 
kept  in  the  peculiar  hieroglyphic  system,  called  quipu. 


^<  I 


Peruvian  Literature, 


403 


Cords  of  many-colored  threads  twisted  together,  with 
pendant  fringes  of  white,  yellow,  red,  and  vari-tinted 
threads,  knotted  in  an  arbitrary  manner,  constituted  the 
fundamental  basis  of  this  system,  the  chief  value  of 
which  was  for  arithmetical  purposes,  for  calculating 
revenues,  keeping  registers,  and  recording  annals ;  each 
knot,  as  has  been  said,  suggesting  to  the  skilled,  a 
train  of  associations  similar  to  that  suggested  by  the 
number  attached  to  the  commandments  of  the  dec- 
alogue. 

The  Peruvians  had  legendary  poetry,  ballads,  and  a 
sort  of  theatrical  exhibitions  more  or  less  dramatic. 
They  were  geographers  to  some  extent,  constructed 
maps,  divided  the  year  into  twelve  lunar  months,  took 
azimuths  by  measuring  the  shadows  of  cylindrical  col- 
umns, and  determined  the  equinoxes  by  a  pillar  set  in 
the  centre  of  a  circle  within  the  great  temple,  divided 
by  a  line  drawn  from  east  to  west.  Altar-fires  blazed  to 
the  planet  Venus;  diviners  dabbled  in  astrology; 
eclipses  were  viewed  with  affright. 

Tunnels,  canals  for  irrigating  purposes,  and  the  abun- 
dant use  of  ^uano  in  their  field  culture,  showed  their 
skill  and  foresight  in  overcoming  the  obstacles  of  na- 
ture. As  in  Mexico,  the  greatest  variety  of  climate  and 
products  existed,  from  the  sun^bathed  plains  swimming 
in  the  incandescent  atmosphere  of  the  sea-level, 
through  the  mellowing  humidity  of  the  middle  regions, 
up  to  those  irradiated  cones  which,  armored  in  adaman- 
tine ice,  tower  into  dazzling  altitudes  and  shoot  flame 
and  sunlight  from  their  volcanic  sides. 

The  banana,  the  maize-plant,  the  aloe,  the  tobacco, 
the  narcotic  coca  for  chewing,  a  sort  of  rice,  and  many 


404 


TJip.  Spanish  Navigators. 


shrubs  and  medicinal  herbs,  were  known  to  them. 
They  were  probably  the  only  American  race  that  em- 
ployed domestic  animals,  chiefly  the  llamas  and  the 
alpacas.  Shawls,  robes,  hangings,  of  admirable  delicacy 
and  durability,  showed  their  aptitude  in  working  up  the 
hair  of  animals.  Bracelets,  collars,  and  vases  of  gold 
and  silver,  elaborately  wrought,  evinced  unusual  metal- 
lurgical knowledge  ;  mirrors  of  polished  stone  or  bur- 
nished silver ;  utensils  of  fine  clay  and  copper ;  delicate 
cutting  and  setting  of  emeralds  without  knowledge  of 
iron  ;  sculptured  porphyry  and  granite ;  extraction  of 
the  precious  metals  without  knowledge  of  quicksilver ; 
ore-smelting,  architectural  monuments  of  great  extent 
and  magnificence,  all  give  testimony  of  their  superiority 
in  the  various  arts. 

A  refined,  innocent,  orderly  people,  they  stand  in  the 
greatest  contrast  to  the  ferocious  Aztecs.  They  guarded 
carefully  against  famine,  invasion,  and  rebellion;  they 
worshipped  the  light ;  they  abounded  in  institutions  re- 
garded even  by  the  Spaniards  as  exerting  a  favorable 
influence  on  the  people,  and  though  their  system  was 
an  inexorable  mechanism,  all  the  parts  were  harmoni- 
ously related,  and  every  detail  was  defined  with  pre- 
cision.* 

Such  was  the  nation  against  which  the  foundling,  the 
pilot,  and  the  missionary  directed  their  romantic  expe- 
dition. The  story  of  their  dropping  down  into  those 
silent  latitudes  —  their  meeting  with  the  wandering 
Indians  on  the  passage,  their  landing  at  Tumbez,  their 
reception  as  the  children  of  the  Sun  by  the  simple  natives, 


♦Vid.  G.  Bruhl,  "Die  Culturvolker  Alt-Amerikas,"  1877-78-79. 


A  Social  Fabric  Dissolved, 


405 


their  return  to  Panama,  their  final  overthrow  of  this 
immense  sovereignty  with  about  one  thousand  men  in 
little  more  than  twelve  months  —  is  a  story  which  would 
be  characterized  as  pure  fiction,  did  not  undoubted 
evidence  of  the  undertaking  exist  in  the  utmost  fulness. 

Pizarro's  march  over  the  Andes  is  equal  to  the  most 
celebrated  of  Cortes's  marches.  His  seizure  and  exe- 
cution of  Atahuallpa,  the  powerful  Inca  o£  Peru,  in  the 
face  of  a  countless  army,  is  paralleled  only  by  what 
happened  in  the  case  of  Montezuma.  The  whole  Peru- 
vian organization  seemed  to  dissolve  like  a  breath 
before  the  SjDanish  arms  ;  a  handful  of  hungry  cavaliers 
seemed  to  brush  away  instantaneously  the  whole  fabric. 

The  principal  actors  in  the  great  drama  perished  by 
violent  deaths.  Almagro  and  his  son,  Gonzalo  Pizarro 
and  his  brother  Francisco,  Carbajal,  Hernando  de  Soto, 
Blasco  Nunez  the  viceroy,  Garcia  de  Alvarado,  and  the 
wretched  Incas  Manco  and  Atahuallpa,  were  either 
executed,  murdered,  or  drowned ;  and  Hernando 
Pizarro  languished  in  a  Castilian  prison  for  twenty 
years. 

Four  years  after  the  conquest  of  Peru,  Jacques 
Cartier,  a  Frenchman,  discovered  the  gulf  of  St.  Law- 
rence, and  Mendoza  overran  Buenos  Ayres  as  far  as 
Potosi,  famous  for  the  silver  mines  found  there  nine 
years  later.  In  1541  Chili  was  conquered  ;  Orellana 
sailed  down  the  Amazon,  and  Hernando  de  Soto  (like 
Cortes  and  the  Pizarros,  an  Estremaduran)  discovered 
the  Mississippi,  and  found  a  grave  in  its  waters.  The 
great  navigators,  Drake,  Davis,  and  Frobisher  added, 
by  their  discoveries,  new  lustre  to  the  English  name, 
while  the  Dutch  navigators,  Van  Linschoten,  Barendz, 


406 


The  Spanish  Navigatoi^s, 


Heemskerk,  De  Veer,  Ryp,  Dirk  Gerrits,  and  the  Hout- 
manns,  in  their  search  for  a  passage  to  Cathay,  dis- 
covered Spitzbergen,  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
and  Cape  Horn,  and  opened  the  way  for  the  mighty 
Dutch  East  India  company,  which  attached  to  the 
Netherlands,  by  the  slender  filaments  of  trade,  a  series 
of  dependencies  that  encircled  the  globe. 

Thus  had  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans  become 
"  Spanish  Lakes;"  the  possessions  of  Spain  in  the  New 
World  swept  the  poles,  and  a  gigantic  colonial  systeip 
was  built  up  which  lasted  down  to  our  day.  Mexico, 
Peru,  La  Plata,  and  New  Granada  became  opulent  vice- 
royalties  ;  Yucatan,  Guatemala,  Chili,  Venezuela,  and 
Cuba  remained  captain-generalcies. 

The  advent  of  Joseph  Bonaparte  in  Spain,  and  the 
dethronement  of  Ferdinand  VH.,  produced  (we  may  say 
in  anticipation)  revolutions  in  Spanish  America,  which 
resulted  in  the  independence  of  all  the  great  colonies 
except  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico.  The  land  of  the  Incas 
became  fully  independent  in  1824-26 ;  New  Granada 
and  Venezuela  finally  in  1823  ;  Mexico  in  1829  ;  and 
Guatemala  in  1823.* 

The  Portuguese  colony  of  Brazil  was  finally  established 
into  an  independent  empire  in  the  year  1822,  with  Dom 
Pedro  as  emperor.  The  royal  family,  fearing  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  Napoleon,  had  abandoned  the  country, 
and  arrived  in  Brazil  in  January,  1808.  In  18 15  Brazil, 
though  still  subject  to  Portugal,  was  declared  an  inde- 
pendent kingdom,  entitled  to  its  own  laws  and  adminis- 
tration.    Its  marvellous  progress  in  the  last  fifty  years 


A  Magnificent  Empire.  407 

has  justified  the  expectations  formed   of  its   splendid 
future. 

The  Spanish  navigators  had  thus,  in  less  than  fifty 
years,  made  Spain   the  most   magnificent  empire   on 
earth.     It  is  no  wonder  that  Charles  V.  and  Philip  H. 
were  looked  upon  as  little  less  than  gods,  were  held  in 
affectionate  remembrance  as  the  greatest  kings   that 
have  ever  sat  on  the  throne  of  Spain,  and  were  re- 
garded as  the  incarnation  of    Spanish  greatness  and 
dignity.     The  results  flowing  from  the  munificence  of 
Isabella  the  Catholic  had  been  incalculable.     Nobody 
could  have  foreseen  them,  except  perhaps  the  far-sighted 
queen  herself,  who  united  to  moral  grandeur  and  states- 
manship, a  faith,  hope,  and  charity,  seldom  blended  in 
so  eloquent  a  degree  in  any  human  character. 


*  Vid.  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  9th  edition. 


I* 


$? 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

REGENCY   OF    XIMENES.  —  REIGN   OF    CHARLES   V. 

AND  JUANA. 

A  BRIEF  interregnum  in  Spanish  affairs  now  en- 
sued. Ximenes,  holding  the  regency  by  the 
doubtful  sanction  of  a  prince  who  at  the  time  of  his 
death  had  no  jurisdiction  whatever  over  Castilian  affairs, 
vio-orously  asserted  himself,  though  opposed  by  Charles's 
ambassador,  Adrian,  Dean  of  Louvain.  Letters  from 
Charles  soon  came  confirming  the  Cardinal's  authority. 
Despite  the  repeated  remonstrances  of  Xime'nes  and 
the  council,  Charles,  though  it  was  an  indignity  to  his 
mother,  and  contrary  to  established  usage,  insisted  on 
being  proclaimed  king.  The  cardinal  at  length  yielded, 
and  Charles's  wish  was  carried  out  in  Madrid  and  the 
provinces,  though  Aragon  sturdily  refused  till  he  had 
made  oath  personally  to  respect  the  laws  and  liberties 
of  the  realm. 

Courage,  vigor,  strong  physical  force,  strict  economic 
arrangements,  and  bold  schemes  of  reform,  character- 
ized Xime'nes'  administration.  "  These  are  my  creden- 
tials," said  he,  pointing  to  a  park  of  artillery,  when  the 
discontented  aristocracy  came  to  him  in  a  body,  and 
demanded  by  what  powers  he  held  the  government  so 

408 


^4 


Death  of  Ximenes. 


411 


absolutely.  He  organized  the  burgesses  into  regular 
military  companies  for  police  purposes  and  self-protec- 
tion, retrenched  excessive  salaries,  took  ample  precau- 
tions for  the  preservation  of  the  foreign  conquests  of 
Spain,  extended  the  inquisition  to  the  New  World,  and, 
by  his  assumption  of  sole  authority  in  15 17,  intimidated 
the  powerful  grandees  of  Castile. 

The  landing  of  Charles  in  the  Asturias  in  September, 
1517,  fortunately  got  the  octogenarian  prelate  out  of  a 
host  of  difficulties  engendered  by  the  extortion  of  the 
Flemings,  the  wide  and  general  discontent  at  the  ab- 
sence of  the  king,  and  the  murmurs  of  the  aristocracy. 
By  a  piece  of  matchless  ingratitude,  excusable  perhaps 
on  the  score  of  youth  (he  was  but  seventeen)  and  evil 
counsel,  Charles  addressed  a  letter  to  Xime'nes,  telling 
him,  after  various  complimentary  preliminaries,  that  he 
might  retire  to  his  diocese.  Ill  as  he  was  at  the  mo- 
ment, anxiety,  disease,  and  emotion,  added  to  this  un- 
grateful announcement,  were  too  much  for  his  proud 
spirit ;  Ximenes  became  mortally  ill ;  and  full  of  devo- 
tion, contrition,  and  prayer,  died  (November  8,  15 17), 
saying,  "■  In  thee.  Lord,  have  I  trusted." 

The  character  of  Ximenes  excites  awe  rather  than 
admiration.  Cloister-bred,  gloomy,  and  passionate,  he 
governed  despotically,  he  believed  fanatically,  he  was 
reckless  of  difficulties,  and  fearless  of  all  temporal 
sovereignties.  Of  great  versatility  of  talent,  deep  dis- 
interestedness, a  despiser  rather  than  fearer  of  the 
squibs  and  lampoons  poured  pitilessly  on  him,  irre- 
proachable in  morals,  full  of  a  sort  of  lofty  humility, 
avaricious  of  time  to  a  degree,  short  of  speech,  addicted 
to  theological  arguments  as  his  only  amusement,  people 


P^M 


412 


Reign  of  Charles  V, 


Rival  Claimants, 


413 


saw  in  his  vivid  dark  eyes,  precise  enunciation,  rare 
mental  endowments,  and  commanding  though  emaciated 
personality,  a  spirit  born  to  rule,  and  to  rule  sovereignly. 

A  few  years  of  universal  calm  succeeded  the  peace 
of  Troyon  in  15 16,  which  occasioned  an  alliance  be- 
tween Charles  and  Francis  I.  of  France,  and  brought 
the  bloody  and  tedious  wars  evoked  by  the  league  of 
Cambray  to  an  end. 

A  pompous  entry  into  Valladolid  in  15 18,  followed 
by  his  proclamation  as  king  by  the  Cortes  —  despite  its 
respect  for  ancient  forms  and  aversion  to  innovation  — 
distinguished  the  beginning  of  the  reign.  Enveloped 
in  a  cloud  of  Netherlanders,  Charles  hardly  had  a 
chance  to  learn  his  own  language,  as  Philip  II.,  for 
opposite  reasons,  never  completely  acquired  the  Neth- 
erlandish. Leaving  Castile  disgusted  with  the  venality 
of  his  followers  and  the  nomination  of  William  de 
Croy,  nephew  of  the  unpopular  favorite  Chievres,  to 
the  primacy  of  Spain,  Charles  made  haste  to  hold  the 
Cortes  of  Aragon.  The  Aragonese  proved  more  intract- 
able than  the  Castilians ;  he  met  violent  opposition 
from  them,  though  they  at  length  conferred  on  him  the 
title  of  king  in  conjunction  with  his  mother.  And  here 
Charles  began  those  requests  for  "  donations  "  which 
soon  became  a  regular  part  of  his  policy— money, 
money,  he  asked  for  everlastingly,  and  at  all  times,  so 
that  it  came  to  be  said  that  he  visited  Spain  solely  to 

gather  ducats. 

On  the  i2th  of  January,  1519,  died  Maximilian  em- 
peror of  Germany,  Charles's  grandfather  — a  sudden 
explosion  amid  the  profound  peace  then  reigning  in 
Europe,  an  irritant  to  the  mortal  rivalries  of  the  young 


kings  Francis  and  Charles,  and  a  spark  that  kindled 
into  a  mighty  conflagration  all  the  combustible  elements 
and  crude  ambitions  at  that  time  dormant  through  the 
continent. 

Maximilian  had  endeavored  before  his  death  to  se- 
cure the  imperial  crown  to  his  grandson,  though  obsti- 
nately   opposed    by   the    German    princes  —  emperor 
"elect,"  only,  as  he  himself  was  considered  from  his 
never  having  been  crowned  by  the  pope,— an  indispen- 
sable   ceremony.     Almost   at   the   very   death-bed    of 
Maximilian,   the  passions  of   Europe  began  to  break 
forth.     Two  splendid  rivals  sprang  forth  to  dispute  the 
empire  — both  illustrious  in  youth,  strength,  brilliant 
aspiration,  and  unrivalled  expectations.     Charles  looked 
upon  his  own  elevation  to  the   imperial  throne,  with 
sanguine  hopes  as  grandson  of  Maximilian,  as  a  prince 
of  German  nationality,  and  as  a  king  able  to  repel  with 
what,  in  the  event  of  his  election,  would  be  irresistible 
force,  the  encroachments  of  the  Turkish  power  under 
Selim  II.,  then  menacing  Christendom  with  the  whole 
of  his  power. 

Francis,  on  the  other  hand,  had  high  hopes  of  con- 
vincing the  diet  of  the  expediency  of  now  snubbing  the 
princes  of  the  house  of  Austria  j  of  showing  the  need 
of  an  able  and  mature  sovereign  in  the  present  religious 
and  political  emergency  ;  of  limiting  the  ambitious  and 
comprehensive  designs  of  a  prince  who,  once  elected 
emperor  of  Germany,  would  aspire  to  universal  sover- 
eignty ;  and  of  engaging  a  great  mass  of  disciplined 
and  valiant  troops  capable  of  coping  with  the  invincible 
Selim. 

The  diet  of  Frankfort,  June,  15 19,  after  offering  the 


414 


Ueign  of  Charles  V. 


imperial  crown  to  Frederic  of  Saxony,  —  a  crown  which 
had  no  charms  for  a  prince  of  such  pure  magnanimity 
and  disinterestedness,  —  conferred  it  unanimously,  when 
Frederic  had  declined,  on  Charies.  Discovering,  how- 
ever, great  jealousy  of  his  extraordinary  powers,  the 
electoral  college  presented  to  Charles  a  "  capitulation," 
or  bill  of  rights,  in  which  he  was  requested  to  sign  a 
solemn  recognition  of  the  privileges  and  immunities  of 
the  electors,  the  princes  of  the  empire,  the  cities  and 
the  whole  Germanic  confederation;  which,  signed  by 
his  representatives,  was  afterwards  confirmed  at  his 
coronation  by  himself. 

At  once  vast  projects  of  ambition  began  to  dawn 
upon  the  newly  elected  emperor.  Centuries  seem  to 
have  gone  by  since  the  narrow  times  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella.  The  huge  arena  of  European  politics,  sud- 
denly opening  like  an  immeasurable  amphitheatre 
before  us,  discloses  the  youthful  emperor  with  lofty  de- 
signs and  great  enterprises  vividly  at  work  before  his 
expanding  imagination.  Spain  at  once  took  a  step, 
from  the  confined  limits  of  a  petty  Catholic  power 
entangled  in  infinite  self-conflict,  out  into  the  boundless 
area  of  a  wider  diplomacy,  leaped  to  the  forefront  of  the 
continental  powers,  and  for  four-score  years  exercised 
an  astounding  ascendency  over  them  all. 

Charles's  Spanish  subjects,  however,  viewed  his  ele- 
vation very  differently.  They  saw  in  it  continual  absence 
from  home,  government  by  proxy,  waste  of  blood  and 
treasure  in  the  endless  German  and  Italian  wars,  and  perni- 
cious taxation  to  keep  up  all  this  foreign  splendor.  A  civil 
war  broke  out  in  Valencia  between  nobles  and  people, 
a   mutinous   spirit    showed   itself   in  Castile,    and    the 


^■^'^^^^Iftt^^^^SiMWL 


The  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold,  415 

whole  kingdom  was  more  or  less  agitated.  Leaving 
Adrian,  now  a  cardinal,  regent  of  Castile,  Don  Juan 
Launza,  viceroy  of  Aragon,  and  Mendoza,  count  of 
Melito,  viceroy  of  Valencia,  Charies  sailed  from  Coruna 
for  the  Low  Countries,  May  22,  1520.  He  was  com- 
pelled to  this  move  by  the  impatience  of  the  imperial 
electors  at  the  long  interregnum  between  Maximilian's 
death  and  his  own  coronation,  by  the  intestine  commo- 
tions in  his  hereditary  dominions  of  the  Netherlands, 
by  the  rapid  and  alarming  progress  of  Protestantism  in 
Germany,  and  by  the  speed  and  vigor  of  the  prepara- 
tions of  the  French  king,  who  was  now  ready  with  his 
usual  impetuosity  to  dispute  any  and  everything  in  which 
Charles  took  interest,  or  to  which  he  had  a  claim,  — 
Naples,  Milan,  Charies's  patrimonial  domain  of  Bur- 
gundy, wrested  from  his  ancestors  by  Louis  XL,  or  the 
conquered  kingdom  of  Navarre,  —  no  matter  what. 

The  famous  meeting  of  the  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold, 
between  Henry  VI 1 1,  and  Francis,  took  place  in  an 
open  plain  between  Guisnes  and  Ardres,  in  1520,  —  a 
meeting,  which  though  resulting  in  personal  impressions 
favorable  to  the  chivalrous  accomplishments  and  de- 
lightful manners  of  the  French  king,  was  soon  counter- 
acted in  influence  by  Charles's  ally,  Wolsey,  and  by  a 
less  gorgeous  but  practically  more  advantageous  meet- 
ing with  Charies  himself,  at  Gravelines,  a  month  after- 
wards. 

In  the  presence  of  a  splendid  and  numerous  assem- 
blage gathered  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  the  young  king  was 
crowned  with  the  crown  of  Charlemagne,  emperor  of 
Germany,  October  23,  1520  —  an  event  almost  contem- 
porary with  the  accession  of  Solyman  the  Magnificent, 
to  the  sultanate  of  Turkey. 


416 


Reign  of  Charles  V, 


Never  perhaps  had  Europe  beheld  such  a  group  of 
brilliant  sovereigns  as  at  that  moment  riveted  its  atten- 
tion. Charles,  Francis  I.,  Leo  X.,  Henry  VIII.,  and 
Solyman,  made  an  illustrious  band  —  each  endowed 
with  special  and  splendid  gifts,  whether  as  diplomat, 
preux  chevalier^  connoisseur  in  art,  possessor  of  deter- 
mined personal  force,  or  lover  of  eastern  magnificence. 

The  diet  of  Worms,  so  celebrated  for  its  discussions 
of  Lutheranism,  was  called  by  Charles  for  January  6, 
152 1,  —  the  first  act  of  his  eventful  administration. 

When  Charles  arrived  in  Germany  no  change  in  es- 
tablished forms  of  worship  had  been  introduced,  no 
prince  had  as  yet  embraced  Lutheranism;  the  contro- 
versy as  yet  was  a  controversy  of  pamphlets  and  pas- 
sions, and  no  encroachments  had  been  made  upon  the 
possessions  or  jurisdiction  of  the  clergy.  A  profound 
impression  of  the  beauty,  truth,  and  sincerity  of  Luther's 
teachings,  however,  agitated  Germany  and  impregnated 
the  minds  of  the  people  with  the  liveliest  apprehensions 
of  approaching  change. 

Since  15 17  the  new  movement  to  reform  religion  had 
been  publicly  propagated  by  Luther  and  his  followers. 
Leo  X.'s  hapless  love  of  splendor  led  him  to  that  sale 
of  indulgences  which,  under  Tetzel,  in  Saxony,  and  other 
agencies  in  the  rest  of  the  empire,  introduced  enormous 
abuses,  attracted  the  attention  of  the  purer  clergy  as  a 
bold  and  novel  mode  of  replenishing  church  coffers, 
and  brought  them  to  consider  it  a  practice  equally  sub- 
versive of  faith  and  morals.  The  poor  peasant  of 
Eisleben,  fed  on  the  niceties  and  distinctions  of  a  scho- 
lastic theology,  by  which  men  tried  to  refine  themselves 
into  heaven,  found  providentially  a  copy  of  the  Bible 


-.^i^^^Mto^.^ 


Martin  Luther, 


417 


in  his  monastery  library.  He  devoured  its  contents,  and 
soon  gained  such  reputation  for  sanctity  and  learning, 
that  Frederic  of  Saxony  called  him  to  the  chair  of  phil- 
osophy, in  his  newly  founded  university  of  Wittemberg, 
and  then  to  the  chair  of  theology  in  the  same  institu- 
tion. —  But  it  will  be  useless  to  pursue  the  thousand-told 
tale  of  the  reformation.  Luther  published  ninety-five 
theses  against  indulgences;  he  was  supported  by  the 
Augustinian  friars  of  his  own  monastic  order,  he  was 
secretly  encouraged  by  the  elector  of  Saxony,  he  was 
regarded  at  first  with  condescending  contempt  and  tol- 
eration by  the  court  of  Rome,  then  he  was  summoned 
in  1518  to  appear  at  Rome  before  Prierias,  the  inquisitor- 
general.  In  default  of  this,  the  papal  legate,  Cajetan, 
was  empowered  to  try  him  for  heresy  in  Germany,  at 
Augsburg.  His  memorable  intrepidity  during  that  ex- 
amination, his  flight  from  Augsburg,  his  appeal  from  the 
absolutism  of  Cajetan,  who  insisted  inflexibly  on  a  re- 
cantation, Luther's  perilous  situation,  his  appeal  to  a 
general  council,  the  perpetual  negotiations  flying  hither 
and  thither  between  the  parties  to  the  controversy,  and 
the  manner  in  which  Luther,  by  the  obstinacy  and  false- 
hood of  its  ministers,  came  from  implicit  confidence  to 
absolute  disbelief  in  the  divine  origin  of  the  papal  au- 
thority —  all  this  need  not  be  harped  on. 

At  last  in  1520,  a  bull  of  excommunication  was  pub- 
lished against  him ;  anathemas  thundered  and  adversa- 
ries exulted  ;  but  literally  to  no  purpose.  As  well  fling 
pins  against  a  wall  of  adamant,  as  bulls,  summonses,  pen- 
alties, against  this  Teutonic  impersonation  of  strength. 
Luther  mercilessly  pointed  out  the  impiousness  of  the 
canon  law;   he  made  bonfires  of   the  bulls;    and  far 


418 


Reign  of  Charles    V, 


from  becoming  the  victim  of  abject  ecclesiastical  bigotry, 
laughed  at,  and  despised  it  from  his  stronghold  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people.     The  glorious  light  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith  transfigured  him ;  he  saw  the  uselessness 
of  penances  and  pilgrimages,  auricular  confessions  and 
purgatory,  of  saintly  intercessions,  celibacy,  and  the  de- 
cisions of    the  schoolmen  ;  and   not  only  he,  but  his 
contemporaries ;  so  that  the  ground  in  which  Waldus, 
Wiclif,   and  Huss,  had  sown  was  now  covered  with  a 
white  har\'est  ready  for  the  reaper.     Luther  then  can 
only  be  regarded  as  the  effective  mouthpiece  of  the 
general    European   world,    uttering  with   incomparable 
force,  quaintness,  and  eloquence,  what  multitudes  had 
at  heart  and  cherished  in  the  secret  chambers  of  the 
soul.     When  a  deacon  guilty  of  murder  might  get  ofi 
for  twenty  crowns,  an  abbot  assassinate  for  three  hun- 
dred livres,  and  the  voluptuous  lives  of  ecclesiastics  ap- 
proach the  bestialities  of    Petronius  and    the   Lexicon 
Venereum,  it  was  high  time  that  a  purifying  blast  should 
come  and  blow  such  scandals  to  the  winds.     The  bene- 
fices of  Germany  lay  at  the  mercy  of  joint-stock  com- 
panies, who  openly  purchased  and  retailed  them  to  the 
highest  bidder.     Reuchlin,  Hutten.  Erasmus,  and  Mel- 
ancthon,  with  the  united  force  of  wdt,  raillery,  eloquence, 
and  erudition,  — men  who  had  revived  learning  and  men 
who  had  not,  — gathered  their  strength  at  earlier  or  later 
moments  of  this  splendid  liberation  of  Christianity,  and 
whether  in  speculative  accord  with  it  or  not,  directly  or 
incidentally  aided  in  its  accomplishment. 

Charles,  from  motives  of  policy,  perhaps,  more  than 
on  the  merits  of  the  case,  resolved  to  treat  Luther  with 
signal  severity ;  he  was  summoned  to  appear  at  Worms, 


■■~4*"    • 


THE  PUERTA  DEL  SOL  (GATE  OF  liii.  ..UA,.  TOLEDO 


'mmmm^ 


The  Diet  of  Worms, 


421 


N 


in  March,  1521.  He  did  appear  under  imperial  safe- 
conduct,  saying,  "  that  he  should  do  so  though  as  many 
devils  as  there  are  tiles  on  the  houses,  were  there  com- 
bined against  him  ;  "  but  as  an  obstinate  and  excommu- 
nicated criminal,  he  was  deprived  by  edict,  when 
neither  threats  nor  prayers  could  prevail  on  him  to  re- 
tract his  opinions,  of  his  rights  as  a  citizen,  and  even 
the  personal  protection  of  favorably  disposed  princes. 
He  suddenly  disappeared,  and  lay  concealed  at  Wart- 
burg  for  nine  months,  under  the  protection  of  the  elec- 
tor of  Saxony.  , 

In  152 1,  hostilities  broke  out  in  Navarre  between  the 
French  and  Spanish,  but  the  former  were  defeated  and 
driven  out.     A  league  was  formed  between  Henry  and 
Charles   against  Francis ;  hostilities  broke  out  in  the 
Netherlands   and   Italy;    the    pope    declared    against 
France,  and  a  grand  spectacular  scene  of  war,  tourna- 
ment, and  negotiation  ensued,  further  complicated  by 
Leo's  death  in  1522,  and  the  election  of   Adrian    of 
Utrecht,  Charles's  old  tutor,  to  the  pontifical  dignity. 
Solyman    the   Magnificent,   made  his    famous    descent 
on  Rhodes  in  1522,  the  seat  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John 
of    Jerusalem;    and    pitting    two    hundred    thousand 
against  five  or  six  thousand  soldiers  and  knights,  com- 
manded by  the  heroic  Villers  de  I'Isle  Adam,  brought 
it   to   an   honorable   capitulation   after  a  siege  of  six 
months.     The  knights  then  received  from  the  emperor 
as  reparation  the  island  of  Malta,  so  celebrated  after- 
wards for  its  resistance  to  the  same  enemy  in  Philip's 
time. 

By  the  victory  of  the  nobles  over  the  "  comunidades," 
of    Castile,  at  Villalar,  April   23,    1522,  —  an    event 


iSfi^r  '•  -.*»,  iiJ  ilji-ft'^#ilittl^.^ 


422 


Reign  of  Charles  V. 


Pavia  Besieged. 


423 


which  crushed  for  ages  the  communal  liberties  of  Spain, 

—  an  unsuccessful  insurrection  was  quelled  and  a  new 
confirmation  and  extension  of  the  powers  of  the  crown 
resulted. 

The  Castilians  were  acknowledged  to  have  better  un- 
derstood the  principles  of  liberty  than  any  other  people  in 
Europe ;  to  have  acquired  more  liberal  ideas  of  govern- 
ment and  the  rights  and  privileges  of  individuals ;  and 
to  have  exhibited  a  political  knowledge  not  attained 
even  by  the  English  till  a  century  later.  And  yet  by 
this  fatal  revolution,  headed  by  Juan  de  Padilla,  and 
suppressed  as  suddenly,  all  was  risked  and  all  was  lost. 
The  people  and  cortes  subsided  into  that  lethargy  from 
which  they  were  never  roused  except  when  the  cortes 
abandoning  the  ancient  and  cautious  form  of  examining 
and  redressing  grievances  before  they  proceeded  to 
grant  supplies,  was  called  upon  for  money  and  began 
to  grant  it  without  remonstrance.  And  from  this  fatal 
victory  the  privileges  of  the  cities  date  their  circum- 
scription and  abolition,  commerce  begins  to  decline,  the 
cortes  ceased  to  be  a  genuine  deliberative  body,  and,  in 
the  next  reign,  was  almost  entirely  superseded  by  a  sys- 
tem of  councils  established  and  multiplied  by  the  poli- 
tic Philip.  From  Villalar,  therefore,  —  from  this  great, 
popular  insurrrection,  protesting  against  tyranny  and 
breathing  through  its  "  Holy  Junta "  such  liberty  as 
could  hardly  be  expected  from  the  haughtiest  confed- 
eracy in  the  most  enlightened  times,  —  dates  the  extinct- 
tion  of  Spanish  liberty. 

Disaffection  followed  in  Valencia,  Aragon,  and  Ma- 
jorca, and  Charles's  peninsula  dominions  for  a  moment 

—  owing  to  the  national  antipathy,  rivalries,  and  hostil- 


9 


ity,  existing  from  time  immemorial  between  the  different 
kingdoms  comprising  Spain  —  seemed  on  the  point  of 
dissolution.  By  prudent  and  generous  behavior  towards 
the  malecontents,  however,  —  by  punishing  capitally 
scarcely  twenty  persons  in  Castile,  after  his  arrival  in 
Spain,  by  humoring  with  tact  their  national  prejudices, 
by  gentleness  and  conciliation,  he  easily  pacified  them ; 
and  as  they  idolized  the  memory  of  Isabella,  and  loved 
and  pitied  the  Lady  Jane,  so  they  began  to  twine  their 
impressionable  affections  round  him  and  to  serve  him 
with  that  love  and  loyalty  seen,  perhaps,  nowhere  in  the 
world  more  profoundly  and  pathetically  than  in  the 
peninsula. 

Charles,  elated  with  recent  successes  in  Italy,  made 
his  disastrous  invasion  of  Provence  (1524)  and  was  re- 
pelled by  the  military  skill,  resources,  and  wisdom,  of 
Francis.  Delivered  from  this  invasion  Francis, —  who 
seemed  to  be  in  a  perpetual  dance  and  exhilaration  of 
happy  animal  spirits,  —  assisted  by  one  of  the  most 
powerful  and  best-appointed  armies  ever  raised  in 
France,  resolved  upon  the  re-invasion  of  Milan,  and, 
appointing  Louise  of  Savoy,  his  mother,  regent  during 
his  absence,  he  passed  the  Alps  at  Mont  Cenis,  spread 
consternation  and  disorder  before  him,  embarrassed  the 
imperialists  by  his  brisk  movements,  and  —  fatal  error 
for  him  —  turned  aside  to  lay  siege  to  Pavia,  (October 
1524),  a  town  of  great  importance,  but  strong  in  forti- 
fications. 

Detained  by  the  gallant  defence  of  Pavia,  and  yet 
pursuing  his  design  of  taking  it  with  a  rashness  and 
obstinacy  hard  to  explain,  sacrificing  everything  to  his 
boast  that  he  would  take  the  city,  and  keenly  alive  to 


'-fmmmnimmf 


424  Reign  of  Charles  V,  and  Juana. 

the  ignominy  of  abandoning  the  enterprise  unaccom- 
plished, he  was  shut  in  between  the  forces  of  Leyva,  com- 
mandant at  Pavia,  and  the  forces  of  the  imperial 
generals  ;  a  battle  took  place,  universal  rout  ensued, 
ten  thousand  men  fell,  and  Francis  himself,  together 
with  the  king  of  Navarre,  was  taken  prisoner.  Perhaps 
the  most  memorable  dispatch  in  history  is  that  which 
Francis  sent  to  his  mother  after  the  battle :  "  Madam,  all 
is  lost  except  our  honor !  " 

His  kingdom  was  saved  by  the  address  and  foresight 
of  Louise  of  Savoy. 

Instead  of  treating  Francis  with  the  magnanimity  due  a 
great  prince,  —  instead  of  making  one  concentrated  cam- 
paign against  France  and  Italy  before  they  had  recovered 
from  their  speechless  demoralization,  Charles,  as  usual, 
took  refuge  in  prolix  negotiations,  proposed  offensive 
measures  to  Francis  —  restoration  of  Burgundy,  sur- 
render of  Dauphine  and  Provence,  satisfaction  of  Hen- 
ry's claims  on  France,  and  renunciation  of  all  French 
pretensions  to  Naples  and  Milan,  —  and  sent  the  knightly 
Francis  into  ignoble  captivity  in  the  alcazar  of  Madrid, 
under  the  lynx  eyes  of  Alarcon. 

After  a  rigorous  imprisonment  of  more  than  a  year, 
Francis  was  finally  released  from  captivity  by  the  treaty 
of  Madrid,  January  14,  1526.  He  left  his  eldest  son, 
the  dauphin,  and  his  second  son,  the  Due  d'  Orleans,  as 
hostages  for  the  performance  of  the  stipulations  of  the 
treaty. 

It  is  to  Charles's  disgrace  that  he  was  driven  to  this 
treaty  by  urgent  necessity;  by  Francis's  threatening  to 
resign  his  crown  to  the  dauphin  rather  than  be  tor- 
tured into  concessions  unworthy  of  a  king,  and  by  his 


A  League  against  Charles, 


425 


own  dread  that  if  he  refined  his  torment  too  far,  and 
wrung  and  stung  Francis's  spirit  by  still  more  humili- 
ating conditions,  he  might  outwit  himself,  and  lose  the 
magnificent  ransom  which  he  hoped  to  get  from  the 
French  king. 

In  March,  1526,  Charles's  union  with  Isabella,  of 
Portugal,  a  beautiful  and  accomplished  princess,  nearly 
related  to  the  royal  house  of  Spain,  was  solemnized 
with  picturesque  gayety  and  glory  at  Seville,  —  the 
loveliest  of  the  Andalusian  cities ;  an  event  nearly  con- 
temporaneous with  the  time  when  Francis,  leaping  into 
Lautrec's  boat  at  Hendaya,  crossed  the  river,  sprang 
delightedly  on  the  soil  of  France,  and  crying,  "  I  am 
yet  a  king,"  galloped  full  speed  to  Bayonne. 

Disquietude  reigned  in  Germany  during  this  interval; 
an  insurrection  of    the  peasants  in   Suabia  broke  out, 
followed  by  another  in  Thuringia  led    by  Muncer,  one 
of  Luther's  disciples,    a  communist  and   revolutionary 
of  the  worst  and  wildest  type.      The  death  of  Muncer, 
who  was  condemned  and   executed  as  his  crimes  de- 
served, ended  the  war,  but  did  not  quench  the  smoul- 
dering religious   enthusiasm  upon    which  it  was  built, 
afterwards  to  flash  up   anew  in  a    dangerous  and  san- 
guinary form.      Luther's  translation  of  the  Bible,  suc- 
ceeded by  what  was  called  his   "  incestuous  marriage  " 
with  a  noble  nun,  Catherine  k  Boria,  created  great  scandal 
in  the  ecclesiastical  world,  somewhat  extenuated,  to  be 
sure,  by  his  prudence  and  moderation  during  this  peas- 
ant outbreak. 

Absolved  by  the  pope  from  his  oath  not  to  take  up 
arms  against  Charles,  Francis  made  haste,  on  his  de- 
liverance, to  form  a  league  with  Henry,  the  Pope,  Milan, 
and  Venice  against  the  swelling  ambition  of  the  empe- 


426  Reign  of  Charles  V.  and  Juana. 


ror.  Being  required  to  perform  what  he  had  stipulated 
—  especially  the  restoration  of  Burgundy — he  replied 
by  publishing  his  league  with  the  other  powers,  thus 
rousing  the  bitterest  indignation  of  Charles. 

In  1527  took  place  the  sacking  of  Rome  by  the  im- 
perialists, under  the  Constable  de  Bourbon  —  an  event 
infamous  to  the  last  degree,  disclaimed,  though  secretly 
rejoiced  in,  by  Charles,  and  giving  to  the  Catholic  world 
a  cruel  shock.  To  avenge  Pope  Clement's  double-deal- 
ing, Charles's  general,  Bourbon,  set  out  with  a  muti- 
nous and  savage  crew  of  twenty-five  thousand  men  of 
every  nationality,  with  the  intention  of  invading  the 
papal  territories.  Immense  booty  allured  the  soldiers, 
rendered  furious  by  lack  of  pay  and  by  suffering; 
Clement,  fluctuating,  finally  made  a  treaty  with  Lannoy, 
viceroy  of  Naples,  disbanded  his  troops,  and  relied  on 
providence  and  the  other  party  to  the  treaty  for  a  carry- 
ing out  of  its  articles.  Bourbon  refused  to  recognize 
the  new  treaty,  marched  on  and  assaulted  Rome,  de- 
fended only  by  such  troops  as  Clement  could  hurriedly 
gather,  was  slain  himself  in  the  assault,  and  his  men, 
animated  by  frenzy,  stormed,  burned,  ravaged,  and  vio- 
lated, in  a  way  that  roused  indignation  throughout  Chris- 
tendom. Clement  fled  to  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  and 
Charles  laughed  in  his  sleeve.  Starved  out  of  his 
stronghold,  the  wretched  Medici  had  to  surrender,  while 
the  horror  of  Europe  at  the  sacrilege  of  the  Holy  City 
in  flames  was  assuaged  by  the  devout  spectacle  of 
Charles  appointing  prayers  and  processions  throughout 
all  Spain  for  the  recovery  of  the  pope's  liberty,  putting 
himself  and  his  court  in  mourning,  and  commanding  the 
rejoicings  over  the  birth  of  his  son  Philip,  inauspicious 
in  this  moment  of  universal  desolation  (!),  to  cease. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

REIGN   OF  CHARLES   V.   AND   JUANA. 

[continued.] 

THE  next  eight  years  (15 2 7-1 535)  were  crowded 
with  events,  some  of  minor,  some  of  immense 
importance.  The  large  extent  of  Charles's  dominions 
compelled  frequent  absences  from  Spain.  His  life  was 
one  of  incessant  travel  from  point  to  point  and  from 
diet  to  diet ;  and  the  wonder  is  not  that  he  should  have 
abdicated  in  the  prime  of  life,  but  that  he  should  have 
held  his  tumultuous  territories  as  long  as  he  did.  Pope 
followed  pope ;  treaty  followed  treaty ;  war,  negotiation, 
and  reconciliation  followed  war,  negotiation,  and  recon- 
ciliation ;  and  still  the  emperor,  with  matchless  calm 
and  persistency,  gout-tormented  as  he  was,  exposed  as 
he  was  to  the  infinite  fatigues  of  horse-back  travel  over 
vast  distances,  held  on,  and  with  impassivity  continued 
to  weave  the  woof  of  his  designs.  The  period  under 
view  embraced  the  formation  of  the  confederacy  be- 
tween Henry  and  Francis  against  Charles  ;  the  recov- 
ery of  their  liberty  by  the  Florentines,  with  the  re-es- 
tablishment of  their  ancient  popular  form  of  govern- 
ment ;  the  invasion  of  Italy  by  the  French  and  Vene- 
tians for  the  liberation  of  the  pope  and  the  Italian 
states  j  the  liberation  of  Clement  in  1527  on  payment 

429 


430  Reign  of  Charles  V.  and  Juana. 


of  an  enormous  ransom  ;  the  romantic  cartel  of  defi- 
ance from  Francis  giving  the  emperor  the  lie  in  form 
for  saying  that  he  was  a  base  violator  of  public  faith 
and  a  stranger  to  the  honor  of  a  gentleman  (the  chal- 
lenge was  accepted  by  Charles,  though  the  duel  did  not 
take  place)  ;  the  retreat  of  the  imperialists  from  Rome  in 
1528,  the  revolt  of  the  great  Andrew  Doria  from  France, 
with  the  recover}'  of  her  liberty  by  Genoa  the  same  year, 
and  the  peace  of  Cambray,  Aug.  5, 1529,  between  Charles 
and  Francis,  with  terms  advantageous  to  the  emperor. 

Francis,  impatient  to  release  his  sons  from  captivity 
in  Spain,  sacrificed  by  this  treaty  the  fruits  of  nine 
successive  campaigns,  left  Charles  arbiter  of  the  fate 
of  Italy,  removed  a  stigma  from  the  Netherlands  by 
abandoning  his  claims  to  the  sovereignty  of  Flanders 
and  Artois,  and  showed  the  fertility,  caution,  and 
sagacity  of  Charles  in  favorable  contrast  with  his  own 
heedlessness  and  impetuosity.  Henry,  anxious  to  ob- 
tain a  divorce  from  Catharine  of  Aragon,  owing  to 
newly  discovered  scruples  as  to  the  legitimacy  of  his 
marriage  with  his  brother's  widow,  and  equally  desirous 
to  gain  Clement's  consent  to  it,  acquiesced  in  the  treaty. 
Then  the  emperor,  landing  at  Genoa,  appeared  in  Italy 
with  the  pomp  and  power  of  a  conqueror,  winning  all 
by  his  courtesy  and  affability.  He  re-established  the 
authority  of  the  Medici  at  Florence,  appointed  the  diet 
of  Speyerfor  March  15,  1529,  and  enjoined  those  states 
of  the  empire  which  had  hitherto  obeyed  the  decree 
issued  against  Luther  at  Worms  in  1524  to  persevere  in 
the  observation  of  it,  while  prohibiting  further  religious 
innovations.  The  name  Protestant  was  said  first  to 
have  been  given  to  the  band  of  illustrious  princes  and 


i , 


I 


The    Augsburg  Confession. 


431 


cities  that  entered  a  protest  against  this  decree  passed 
by  a  majority  of  voices  at  the  diet  —  Elector  of  Saxony, 
Marquis  of  Brandenburg,  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  Duke 
of  Lunenburg,  Prince  of  Anhalt,  and  deputies  from 
fourteen  imperial  cities. 

On  March  22,    1530,  a  diet  of  the  empire  was  held 
at  Augsburg,  during  which  Melancthon,  the  ethereal- 
minded  scholar,  drew  up  the  famous  Augsburg  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  expressing  with  moderation  and  soberness 
the  precise  tenets  of  the  Protestant  party.     A  severe 
decree,  condemning  most  of  the  heretical  opinions  of 
this  confession,  was  fulminated  by  the  popish  party ;  a 
severity  which  compelled  the  Protestant  states,  alarmed 
at  the  prospect  of  rigorous  persecution,  and  convinced 
of  their  destruction  having  been  determined  upon,  to 
enter   into    a   league    of    mutual    defence    against   all 
aggressors,  at  Smalkalde,  December  22,  1530. 

By  firmness  in  adhering  to  their  opinions,  by  the 
unanimity  with  which  they  pushed  all  their  pretensions, 
and  by  their  wisdom  in  seizing  a  happy  conjuncture 
when  the  emperor  was  embarrassed  on  one  side  by  the 
precarious  peace  with  France,  and  on  the  other  by  the 
hostile  movements  of  Solyman,  they  managed  to  extort 
from  Charles  at  Nuremberg  (1531),  terms  which  virtu- 
ally amounted  to  toleration  of  Protestantism.  Solyman 
was  compelled  to  retreat  from  Hungary.  Charles  thus 
released,  set  out  to  re-visit  Spain  by  way  of  Italy,  and 
arrived  in  Barcelona  in  1533. 

The  famous  enterprise  of  the  Spaniards  against  the 
pirates  of  Barbary,  in  1535,  aroused  universal  attention, 
spread  Charles's  fame  as  the  chief  prince  in  Christen- 
dom  everywhere,   and  with  the  defeat  of  the   corsair 


432         Rei(/n  of  Charles   V.  and  Juana. 

Barbarossa's  army  and  the  surrender  of  Tunis  momen- 
tarily extinguished  the  system  of  piracy  with  which  the 
Mediterranean  was  afflicted. 

In  1 S38  at  Nice,  was  concluded  a  truce  of  ten  years 
between  Charles  and  Francis  -  a  result  accomplished 
by  the  zeal  and  ingenuity  of  the  venerable  pontiff  Paul 
and   doubtless   pleasing   to  Charles,  after  his   second 
luckless  invasion  of  Provence  in  1536.     An  interview 
took  place  between  the  rivals,  spiced  with  piquant  rec- 
ollections, perhaps,  considering  the  terms  on  which  they 
had  been  for  twenty  years.     They  had  mutually  given 
and  taken  the  lie;  Charles  had  denounced  Frahcis  as 
destitute   of   honor,   Francis  had  accused   Charles   of 
bein-  accessory  to  the  recent  death  of  the  dauphin   and 
injuries  without  number  reciprocally  inflicted  or  endured 
were  in  the"  memory  of  each.     And  yet  they  romanti- 
cally rushed  into  each  other's  arms  like  two  school-boy.s 
and  showed  the  warmest  demonstrations  of  esteem  and 

affection  on  both  sides. 

In  i:;39  on  the  accession  of  Henry  to  the  electorate 
of  Saxony  -  a  prince  devotedly  attached  to  Protestant- 
ism —  that  religion  became  established  in  every  part  of 

Saxony.  ,       ,  . 

The  expenses  of  Charles's  military  undertakings  now 

caused  Spain  to  groan  under  a  taxation  unknown  in  its 
history  He  dismissed  the  Cortes  of  Castile  at  Toledo 
in  1^4  with  great  acrimony  because  it  ventured  to  ex- 
postulate with  his  continual  entanglement  in  European 
^airs,  the  burdens  entailed  upon  the  people  in  conse- 
auence  and  the  threatened  ruin  of  public  credit  and 
^  resources.  Henceforth  nobles  and  pre^ate^ 
were  not  called  to  the  Cortes,  under  pretence  that  those 


432        Bei<jn  of  Oltarles   V.  and  Juana. 

Barbarossa's  army  and  the  surrender  of  Tunis,  momen- 
tarily extinguislied  tlie_  system  of  piracy  with  which  the 
Mediterranean  was  afflicted. 

In  1538,  at  Nice,  was  concluded  a  truce  of  ten  years 
between  Charles  and  Francis  -  a  result  accomplished 
by  the  zeal  and  ingenuity  of  the  venerable  pontiff  Paul 
and   doubtless   pleasing   to  Charles,  after  his   second 
luckless   invasion   of  Provence  in  1536.     An  interview 
took  place  between  the  rivals,  spiced  with  piquant  rec- 
ollections, perhaps,  considering  the  terms  on  which  they 
had  been  for  twenty  years.     They  had  mutually  given 
and  taken  the  lie ;  Charles  had  denounced  Francis  as 
destitute   of   honor,   Francis   had  accused   Charles   of 
bein-  accessory  to  the  recent  death  of  the  dauphin   and 
iniurles  without  number  reciprocally  inflicted  or  endured 
were  in  the-  memory  of  each.     And  yet  they  romanti- 
callv  rushed  into  each  other's  arms  like  two  school-boys 
and  showed  the  warmest  demonstrations  of  esteem  and 

affection  on  both  sides. 

In  I  ;39  on  the  accession  of  Henry  to  the  electorate 
of  Saxony'-  a  prince  devotedly  attached  to  Protestant- 
ism -  that  religion  became  established  in  every  part  of 

Saxony.  ,       ,  . 

The  expenses  of  Charles's  military  undertakings  now 

caused  Spain  to  groan  under  a  taxation  unknown  in  its 
histor^■  He  dismissed  the  Cortes  of  Castile  at  1  oledo 
in  i^^Q  with  great  acrimony  because  it  ventured  to  ex- 
postulate with  his  continual  entanglement  in  European 
affairs,  the  burdens  entailed  upon  the  people  in  conse- 
quence, and  the  threatened  ruin  of  public  credit  and 
private  resources.  Henceforth  nobles  and  prelat  s 
were  not  called  to  the  Cortes,  under  pretence  that  those 


w 


The  Order  of  Jesuits. 


435 


who  were  exempt  from  taxation  had  no  right  to  impose 
it ;  and  the  Cortes  was  then  limited  to  thirty-six  repre- 
sentatives from  eighteen  cities.  The  nobility,  in  crush- 
ing the  commons  and  upholding  the  royal  prerogative 
at  Villalar,  in  1522,  had  virtually  extinguished  their  own 
body,  ill-compensated  by  such  paltry  privileges  as  wear- 
ing a  hat  in  the  king's  presence,  donning  anniversary 
robes,  rights  of  petty  jurisdiction,  and  maintenance  of 
miraculously  precise  etiquette. 

The  insurrection  of  Ghent  in  1536,  caused  by  her 
citizens  refusing  to  pay  their  quota  to  the  French  war, 
was  crushed  by  Charles  with  relentless  rigor,  and  an 
example  of  severity  set  before  his  other  subjects  of  the 
Netherlands  that  dared  to  set  themselves  in  the  way  of 
his  measures. 

The  year  1540,  is  rendered  noticeable  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  the   order  of   Jesuits.     The  soldier-monk 
Loyola,  at  length  removing  the  pope's  scruples  against 
the  formation  of  a  new  order  by  promising   to  add  to 
the  three  monastic  vows  of  poverty,  chastity,  and  mon- 
astic obedience,  that  of  special  obedience  to  the  pope, 
—  binding  his  followers  to  abject  submission  to  the  inte- 
rests of  religion,— obtained  Paul's  authorization  to  insti- 
tute this  world-wide  organization.     A  missionary  order 
under  military  organization  —  a  religious  order  devoted 
to  worldly  affairs,  education,  and  the  conquest  of  per- 
sons of  rank  and  intelligence,  a  body  of  men  whose 
watchword  was  implicit  and  absolute  obedience  to  the 
mandate  of  their  general,  no  matter  on   what  errand 
bent,  an  immense  bureau  of  secret  intelligence  from 
every  quarter  of  the  globe,  a  scheme  soon  furnishing 
subtle   spiritual  guides   to  nearly  all   the  monar<:hs  in 


436  Reign  of  Charles  F.  and  Jmna, 

Europe  and  participating  in  every  revolution  and  every 
intrigue  />ro  gland  fid^h  —  their  wealth,   their   special 
trading  facilities  with  foreign  countries,  granted  by  the 
court  of  Rome,  their  possessions  in  every  country  — 
sometimes  with  sovereign  sway  —  and  their  character- 
istic and  pernicious  attachment  to  the  order  first  and 
the  order  last— showed,  before  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  that  mighty  progress  which,  though  illustrated 
by  eminence  in  literature,  art,  and  education,  was  soon 
seen  to  be  the  fertile  source  of  innumerable  calamities 
to  civil  and  political  society.     Occult  ambition,  reckless 
selfishness,  insatiable  intrigue,  caused  their  ruin;  and 
though  they  did  not  exercise  any  considerable  influence 
in  Charles's  time,  the  order  began  their  career  at  that 
epoch,  and  experienced  a  check  from  his  sagacious  and 

far-seeing  spirit. 

Another  expedition  to  Africa  against  Algiers,  m  1541, 
going  down  in  an  eclipse  of  disaster,  as  the  first  had 
been  full  of  glory,  now  called  Charles  away. 

The  emperor's  great  qualities  came  out  conspicuously 
in  his  reverses  ;  self-denial,  greatness  of  soul  in  defeat, 
constancy,  humanity,  showed  that  he  was  not  wholly 
mastered  by  selfishness  and  self-interest. 

The  immense  pageant  of  Charles's  reign  was  now 
increased  by  the  presence  of  Maurice  of  Saxony,  who, 
in  1 541,  succeeded  his  father  Henry  in  that  part  of 
Saxony  which  belonged  to  the  Albertine  branch  of  the 
Saxon  family;  a  knightly  figure;  brilliant,  graceful, 
daring  ;  a  zealous  Protestant,  a  great  general,  a  paladm 
of  romance  for  costly  and  insinuating  accomplishments  ; 
and  all  this  at  twenty.  Francis,  tired  of  the  truce,  re- 
newed hostilities  in  1542  with  five  fine  armies,  but  made 
peace  at  Crespy  in  1544. 


Death  of  Martm  Luther. 


437 


The  council  of  Trent  was  summoned  to  meet  in  1545, 
soon  after  the  peace  of  Crespy,  but  the  Protestants,  with 
the  exception  of  Maurice,  who  courted  favor  with  the 
emperor,  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  it. 

An  inflammation  of  the  stomach  carried  off  the  great 
Luther  in  1541. 

The  reformer  left  behind  a  reputation  for  dauntless 
intrepidity,  zeal  for  truth,  purity  and  austerity  of  man- 
ners, humor,  passionate  temper,  and  prejudice,  not  min- 
gled in  equal  degree  in  the  character  of  any  of  his 
contemporaries.  Indelicacy,  culpable  acrimony  of 
statement,  irascibility,  and  vanity,  cast  a  shade  on  one 
side  of  the  picture,  and  tell  us  that  Luther  was  human. 
But  a  rugged  grandeur  of  soul,  an  infinitely  subtle  spirit 
of  mirth,  the  warbling  of  a  melodious  gift  for  poetry,  a 
Homeric  sense  of  the  ridiculous,  a  generous  toleration 
for  human  fraility,  and  a  pleasant  garrulousness  as  of 
some  rough  old  man  talking  to  his  children,  show  us 
in  him  glimpses  of  a  lovableness  and  simplicity  allied 
to  the  sweetest  tendencies  of  our  nature. 

The  next  two  years,  saw  the  commencement  of  hos- 
tilities against  the  Protestants.  Charles  concluded  a 
truce  with  Solyman,  gained  over  Maurice  and  other 
princes  in  Germany,  formed  a  treaty  with  the  pope  to 
check  the  growth  of  Henry,  and  while  endeavoring  to 
conceal  his  intentions  from  the  Protestants,  so  alarmed 
them  that,  after  gigantic  efforts,  they  were  enabled  to 
take  the  field  with  forces  superior  to  his  own,  and  even 
to  overawe  the  emperor.  The  elector  of  Saxony,  the 
landgrave  of  Hesse,  the  duke  of  Wurtemberg,  the  princes 
of  Anhalt,  and  the  cities  of  Augsburg,  Ulm,  and  Strass- 
burg,  were  the  principal  contributors  to   this  great  ar- 


438  Reign  of  Charles  V,  and  Juana. 

mament  of  seventy  thousand  foot  and  fifteen  thousand 
horse.  But  the  host  fell  asunder  at  the  critical  moment ; 
one  part  of  it  after  another  submitted ;  and,  finally,  by 
the  battle  of  Miihlberg,  in  1547,  Charles  defeated  and 
took  prisoner  the  elector  of  Saxony.  He  forced  him 
with  ungenerous  rigor  to  surrender  the  electorate  and 
remain  a  perpetual  prisoner;  Maurice  was  put  in  pos- 
session of  his  dominions  as  his  reward  for  deserting 
the  Protestant  cause;  and  the  landgrave  of  Hesse, 
Maurice's  father-in-law,  being  made  the  victim  of  an 
infamous  piece  of  perfidy  on  Charles's  part,  was  de- 
tained a  prisoner  under  a  Spanish  guard. 

The  emperor's  indecent  treatment  of  two  of  the 
greatest  princes  of  Germany  provoked  murmurs  long 
and  loud.  But  assuming  the  arrogant  and  inflexible 
tone  of  a  conqueror,  he  began  to  dictate  despotically 
and  greatly  to  alarm  a  people  habituated  during  centu- 
ries to  consider  the  imperial  authority  as  neither  exten- 
sive nor  formidable.  Charles  could  act  all  the  more 
confidently,  as  Francis,  his  antagonist  during  twenty- 
eight  years,  —  the  gay,  the  spiritual,  the  captivating,  the 
accomplished, — was  now  no  more. 

The  sparkling  volatility  of  Francis,  his  absolute  au- 
thority within  his  own  compact  dominions,  his  enthu- 
siastic and  adventurous  temperament,  his  easily-kindled 
affections,  his  love  of  poetry  and  painting,  were  a  direct 
counterbalance  to  Charles's  length  of  deliberation,  his 
bull-dog-like  obstinacy,  his  sway  over  a  large  and  loose 
confederation,  perpetually  angry,  perpetually  in  fermen- 
tation, and  his  cautious  utilization  of  his  conquests. 
We  may  admire  Charles,  but  Francis  we  cannot  help 
loving.      An  irrepressible  boyishness,  a   dash,    a  gal- 


INTERIOR  OF  SAN  JUAN  DF  roQ  ■ 


ULEDO. 


A  Bad  Impression. 


441 


lantry,  unknown  to  his   sober  rival,  endear  him  to  us 
and  make  us  forgive  or  forget  his  numerous  faults. 

Charles  now  journeyed  into  the  Low  Countries  to  re- 
ceive  and  have  his  son  Philip,  now  twenty-one,  recog- 
nized  as    heir-apparent    of    the    Netherlands.      Philip, 
though  welcomed    and   entertained   with    the    ancient 
splendor  of  Brabant,  did  not  make  a  good  impression. 
His  youth  seemed  to  have  no  bloom,  no  brilliance,  no 
benignity,    already   his    haughty  reserve    and   solemn 
frown  overcast  the  sunshiny  disposition  of  the  Nether- 
landers,  and  overawed  their  frank  and  joyous  temper- 
ament, and  horoscopes  most  unfavorable  to  his  future 
in  the  Low  Countries  were  already  cast  by  the  impres- 
sionable imaginations  of  the  Flemings. 

Prince  Maurice  of  Saxony,  who  had  all  along  been 
profoundly  double-dealing  with  the  emperor,  suddenly, 
after  the  capitulation  of  the  hitherto  unreduced  Magde- 
burg, in  155 1,  threw  off  the  mask,  and  revealed  to ''the 
astounded  despot  his  own  vast  schemes  of  ambition. 
In  his  manifesto  of  1552,  justifying  his  conduct,  he  ex- 
poses his  reasons  for  now  taking  up  arms   against  the 
emperor,  who  had  hitherto  regarded  him  as  one  of  his 
strongest  allies,— that  he  might  assure  the  Protestants 
in  the  practice  of  their  religion,  maintain  the  laws  and 
constitution  of  the    empire,    save    Germany    from    a 
despotism,  and  deliver  the  landgrave  of   Hesse  from 
the  miseries  of  a  long  and  unjust  imprisonment. 

Being  powerfully  aided  by  Henry  IL,  of  France,  he 
advanced  with  eagle  swiftness  upon  the  imperialist 
forces  at  Innsbruck,  compelled  the  emperor  to  fly  in 
confusion  from  the  place,  broke  up  the  council,  which 
had  again  returned  to  Trent  from  Bologna,  in  wildest 
consternation,  and  by  the  vigor  and  alertness   of   his 


442  Reign  of  Charles  V.  and  Juana. 

operations  forced  the  distressed  and  embarrassed  mon- 
arch to   the  celebrated  Peace  of   Religion  at  Passau, 

August  2,  1552. 

This  peace  overthrew  with  a  breath  the  monstrous 
fabric  of  Charles's  ambition,  annulled  all  his  regulations 
concerning  religion,  scattered  to  the  winds  his  darling 
scheme  of  procuring  the  election  of  Philip  as  his  suc- 
cessor on  the  imperial  throne,  and  triumphantly  vindi- 
cated and  established  Protestantism.  Maurice's  pro- 
found dissimulation  was  glorified  and  transfigured  into 
providential  foresight ;  and  the  historian's  concluding 
reflection  on  the  subject  is,  "  that  wonderfully  doth  the 
wisdom  of  God  superintend  and  regulate  the  caprice 
of  human  passions,  and  render  them  subservient  towards 
the  accomplishment  of  his  own  purpose  !  " 

Little  remains  to  be  said  of  the  three  concluding  years 
of  Charles's  long  and  stormy  reign,  unless  we  would 
repeat  the  perpetual  story  of  hostility  against  France  — 
now  his  favorite  passion ;  tumults  in  various  parts  of 
his  widely-extended  territories,  and  never-ending  diffi- 
culties with  Italy.  The  landgrave  of  Hesse  recovered 
his  freedom  and  was  reinstated  in  his  dominions,  and 
the  degraded  elector  of  Saxony  was  set  at  liberty  by 
the  emperor.  War  was  again  renewed  with  France  for 
the"  recover)^  of  Metz,  Toul,  and  Verdun,  lately  won  by 
the  French;  but  the  deluges  of  rain  and  snow,  bitter 
winter  weather,  starvation,  and  the  gallant  Duke  of 
Guise  brought  about  the  utter  ruin  of  the  imperial  army 
with  the  loss  of  thirty  thousand  men. 

This  disastrous  year  (1552),  was  further  signalized 
by  unfortunate  occurrences  in  Italy,  the  revolt  of  Sien- 
na, and  the  descent  of  the  Turks  on  the  kingdom  of 


An  Extraordinarif  G-enius, 


448 


Naples,  where   they  cast  anchor  in  tJie  very  harbor  of 
the  metropolis,  and  diffused  terror  through  Italy.     The 
turbulence  of  Albert  of  Brandenburg,  who  kindled  a 
new  war  in   Germany,  and   united  the  most  powerful 
princes  in  the  land  (headed  by  Maurice)  against  himself, 
threw  the  vast  confederation  into  a  tremor.     In  the  bat- 
tle of  Sieverhausen,  in  Lunenburg,  he  was  attacked  and 
routed  ;  but  the  Germanic  league  experienced  an  irrepar- 
able loss  in  the  death  of  Maurice,  who  fell  in  this  bat- 
tle, aged  thirty-two. 

An  extraordinary  genius;  ambitious,  grossly  unjust 
in  stealing  his  kinsman's  dominions,  full  of  prudence 
and  vigor  when  his  youth  suggested  immaturity  and 
recklessness,  wonderfully  alert  and  forgiving  where  his 
own  interests  were  concerned,  a  profound  intriguer,  an 
intricate  schemer,  a  sturdy  Protestant ,  the  most  para- 
doxical elements  combined  in  Prince  Maurice's  character 
and  made  him  at  once  universally  admired  and  univer- 
sally feared. 

The  decline  of   the  ''  Star  of  Austria "  was  observ- 
able also  in   Hungary,   where   the   emperor's     brother 
Ferdinand  was  compelled   to  abandon  Transylvania  to 
Isabella,  late  queen  of  Hungary,  and  the  Turks.     To 
counteract  apparently  the  decay  of  his  prestige,  a  mar- 
riage was  projected  between  Charles's  son   Philip,  now 
a  widower,  and   Mary  of  England,  —  a  marriage  origi- 
nally arranged  for  Charles  himself     It  seemed,  however, 
Philip's  fate  to  marry  princesses  originally  destined  for 
somebody  else ;  for  no  less  than  three  out  of  his  four 
wives  were  thus  selected,  one  for  his  father  and  two  for 
his  son,  Don  Carlos. 

The  marriage  treaty  v/as  signed  m  1554  and  gave  to 


444  Reign  of  Charles  V,  and  Juana. 

Philip  the  empty  title  of  king  of  England.  Discontent 
and  apprehension  were  general  in  England  at  so  close 
a  connection  with  the  most  Catholic  of  European  coun- 
tries ;  justified  to  a  great  extent,  for,  after  the  stately 
wedding  ceremonies  in  1554,  Mary  took  advantage  of 
Wyatt's  insurrection  to  effect  measures  for  the  extirpa- 
tion of  Protestantism  in  her  kingdom. 

Fitful  campaigns  in  Picardy  against  Henry  of  France, 
and  in  Piedmont  under  the  duke  of  Alva,  were  carried 
on  with  varying  event.  'I  he  conspiracy  to  deliver  Metz 
into  the  hands  of  the  imperialists  signally  miscarried. 
Languid  negotiations  for  peace  between  the  potentates 
were  labored  upon  with  piety  and  humanity  by  Cardi- 
nal Pole  ;  but  as  neither  would  relinquish  his  extrava- 
gant demands,  they  proved  abortive. 

The  "recess  of  Augsburg,"  in  1555,  a  scheme  of 
pacification  between  the  Papists  and  Protestants  of 
Germany,  gave  the  foundation  to  the  subsequent  reli- 
gious peace  and  toleration  in  that  country— a  scheme 
essential  to  their  mutual  safety  and  tranquillity.  Curi- 
ously enough,  Calvin's  and  Zwingle's  followers  were 
excluded  from  this  arrangement ;  only  those  adhering 
to  the  Confession  of  Augsburg  receiving  the  benefit  of 
it  •  and  not  till  the  treaty  of  Westphalia  did  they  ac- 
quire legal  authorization  to  enjoy  equal  privileges  with 

the  Lutherans.  ,     ,        j        .u 

An  event  long  conceived,  long  fore-shadowed,  —  the 
surrender  of  his  hereditary  dominions  to  Philip,  and  his 
own  retirement  from  the  brilliant  but  agitated  arena  of 
political  life,  —  was  now  put  into  execution  by  Charles. 
Elected  to  the  imperial  crown  in  1519,  when  Spain 
under  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  had  become  consolidated, 


Abdication  of  Charles  V. 


445 


and  had  taken  its  place  in  the  hierarchy  of  the  great 
European  commonwealth — the  real  sovereign  of  Mexico, 
of  Peru,  of  far-distant  dependencies  in  the  New  World 
and  the  Old,  of   Franche-Comte,  Spain,  and  the  Nether- 
lands, of  Naples  and  Sicily — his  life  had  been  one  of 
ceaseless   activity,  vicissitude,  and   success.     He   had 
crushed  the  liberties  of  the  Spanish  people  at  Villalar 
in  the  war  of  the  communities.     He  had  witnessed  and 
vigorously  co-operated  —  on  the  wrong  side — in    the 
great  battle  for  religious  liberty  and  Protestantism.    He 
had  rolled  back  the  tide  of  Turkish  conquest  in  his 
early  life.     He  had  been  the  champion  of  Christianity 
in  Tunis  and  Algiers.     He  had  traversed  Italy,  Spain, 
Flanders,  France,  England,  and  Germany,  forty  times, 
bent  on  expeditions  of  war  or  peace.     He  had  carried 
on  a  prolonged  and  sanguinary  conflict  with  his  brother- 
in-law,  Francis  I.     He  had  waged  determined  war  on 
the  Lutheran  princes  of  Germany.     He  had  struggled 
in  vain  against  Maurice  and  had  seen  his  projects  anni- 
hilated  by  the   peace   of    Passau.     And   now,   prema- 
turely exhausted  at  fifty-six,  racked   since  his  thirtieth 
year  by  excruciating  gout,  disabled  so  that  he  had  to  be 
carried  about  in  a  litter  and  could  not  or  would  not  sign 
letters  or  papers  for  months ;  overshadowed  by  consti- 
tutional melancholy  and  in  deep  mourning  for  the  re- 
cent death  of  his  mother  Juana ;  listening  to  supersti- 
tious voices  calling  him  away,  and  seeing  a  fit  successor 
in  his  thoroughly  trained  son  Philip,  now  twenty- nine, 
Charles  hastened  to  make  arrangements  by  which  he 
could    fittingly   and    impressively   withdraw    into    the 
monastery  of  Yuste  and  leave  forever  the  tumultuous 
drama  of  the  w^orld. 


r 


446 


Reign  of  Charles  V,  and  Juana, 


I- 


The  closing  scene  of  his  sovereignty  at  Brussels, 
October  25,  1555,  when  in  the  sumptuous  chateau  of 
the  capital,  and  surrounded  by  the  gorgeous  ceremonial 
of  the  antique  Burgundian  court,  he  ceded  to  his  son  the 
realm  of  Flanders,  forms  a  transcendent  picture  wor- 
thy of  the  commemorative  pencil  of  Paul  Veronese. 
Breathless  attention  reigned  throughout  the  assembly ; 
deep  emotion  was  evoked  by  the  pathos  and  lofty  self- 
abnegation  of  the  emperor's  tone ;  Charles  spoke  with 
a  simplicity  and  eloquence  that  touched  all  hearts ;  and 
his  parting  admonition,  delivered  in  broken  accents  to 
his  son,  who  stood  by  in  an  attitude  of  deep  respect, 
brought  them  to  tears.  "  Fear  God,  live  justly,  respect 
the  laws ;  above  all,  cherish  the  interests  of  religion." 

On  the  1 6th  of  January,  1556,  he  formally  ceded  to 
Philip  the  sovereignty  of  Castile,  Aragon,  and  their 
dependencies,  having,  the  October  previous,  thrown 
about  his  neck  the  sparkling  jewel  of  the  grandmaster- 
ship  of  the  Golden  Fleece. 

The  emperor  now  passed  into  Spain  accompanied 
by  the  queens  of  Hungary  and  France,  his  sisters,  and 
one  hundred  and  fifty  of  his  household  as  special  es- 
cort ;  and  after  a  few  months'  sojourn  in  various  parts 
of  the  realm,  where  he  was  affectionately  welcomed,  he 
journeyed  on  like  a  pilgrim,  to  the  city  of  his  rest, 
toward  the  Hieronymite  monastery  which  he  had  chosen 
for  his  hermitage.  There  he  settled  into  a  life  of  med- 
itation, austerity,  penitence,  and  prayer ;  mingling  his 
monkish  practices,  however,  with  characteristic  amuse- 
ments, sensual  indulgences,  and  comprehensive  corre- 
spondence with  his  agents  abroad.  He  could  not  give 
up  the  world  entirely,  but  kept  up  unfailing  interest  in 
its  affairs. 


' 


.  ■\\V\X^'^^  ^^ 


/^ 


^M^0m 


^ 


\>fe\«''  '^lO.AVffli^^rx^^^^^^^ 


PEASANT  OF  ALCOY. 


n 


Charles  V,  at  Yuste. 


449 


Yuste  was  a  lovely  spot ;  high,  pure-aired,  wrapped 
in  lemon  and  myrtle  gardens,  lifted  into  an  atmosphere 
serene  and  sweet  above  the  teeming  plains  that  washed 
its  base  like  a  sea ;  and  there,  amid  its  tranquil  luxuri- 
ance, sunny  groves,  and  sacred  employments,  the  tired 
emperor  found  space  for  yet  a  few  years  of  peaceful 
existence.  Here,  amid  the  hills  of  Estremadura,  he 
was  enabled  to  carry  out  his  plans  of  devoting  himself 
to  the  salvation  of  his  soul  —  a  plan  which  his  consort, 
the  Empress  Isabella,  had  likewise  conceived,  but  which 
she  died  too  early  to  execute. 

Expiating  the  crimes,  mistakes,  and  misunderstand- 
ings of  a  reign  of  forty  years  unparalleled  for  great 
issues  and  protracted  struggles,  required,  however,  more 
than  mere  self-consecration  to  prayer  and  holy  medita- 
tion. Let  us  seize  the  opportunity  offered  by  the  lull 
to  attempt  a  concise  portrayal,  hitherto  impossible,  of 
Charles's  personal  traits,  habits,  and  surroundings. 

The  monastery  had  been  fitted  up  with  some  archi- 
tectural elegance,  richly  but  simply  furnished,  and 
guarded  against  the  damps  so  fatal  to  his  gouty  consti- 
tution. Here  he  displayed  in  full  force  his  passion  for 
watches,  clocks,  and  mechanical  contrivances  of  all 
sorts ;  he  was  served  on  silver  and  surrounded  by  luxu- 
rious tapestries  ;  eider-down  and  ermine  lined  his  six- 
teen robes  of  silk  and  velvet,  and  curiously  constructed 
arm-chairs  supported  his  tormented  limbs.  The  "Gloria" 
of  Titian  hung  in  one  of  his  rooms,  accompanied  by  a 
small  but  exquisite  group  of  masterpieces  from  the 
same  inimitable  fingers.  He  was  as  fond  of  horticul- 
ture as  Diocletian,  and  he  loved  to  sit  and  meditate 
under  his  walnuts  and  chestnuts.     Though  renowned 


450  Reign  of  Charles  V.  and  Juana, 

for  horsemanship  and  all  manly  exercises  in  his  prime, 
he  could  not  bestride  now  even  an  Andalusian  jennet. 
Some  fifty  persons,  mostly  Flemish  gentlemen,  whose 
language  and  nationality  he  devotedly  loved,  surrounded 
him  as  his  retinue.  Though  a  recluse  at  Yuste,  he  re- 
mained emperor  for  over  a  year  after  his  arrival  there, 
formally  resigning  the  empire  into  the  hands  of  the 
diet  of  Frankfort  early  in  1558. 

He  spent  his  surplus  time  in  mass-going,  carving 
wood  (of  which  he  was  very  fond),  arguing  at  length 
on  scientific  questions  with  the  scholar  Van  Male,  gen- 
tleman of  the  bed-chamber,  listening  to  the  eloquent 
harangues  of  the  Hieronymite  brethren,  discussing  the- 
ology after  dinner  with  them ;  and  in  severe  Lenten 
fasts  and  self-flagellations. 

A  musical  voice  was  another  of  Charles's  gifts,  and  a 
false  note  from  any  of  the  less  fastidiously  trained 
monks  would  make  him  swear  as  in  his  old  campaigning 
days.  He  was  an  ingenious  mechanician,  and  his  con- 
trivances kept  the  simple  monks  in  an  astonishment 
that  made  them  dread  him  as  a  necromancer.  Being 
unable  to  make  any  of  his  numerous  time-pieces  keep 
exactly  the  same  time,  it  is  said  that  he  exclaimed  on 
the  folly  of  attempting  to  make  people  think  alike  in 
religious  matters.  He  admitted  visitors  ;  the  queens  of 
Hungary  and  France  came  to  see  him  ;  he  had  the  con- 
solation of  retaining  in  his  neighborhood,  though  given 
out  as  the  son  of  his  major-domo  Quixada,  his  own  nat- 
ural son,  the  spirited  Don  Juan  of  Austria  ]  he  con- 
ferred with  military  men  and  strangers  from  abroad  ; 
and  he  was  in  perpetual  communication  with  Philip. 
He  lamented  the  loss  of  Calais  and  rejoiced  over  the 


Charles  V,  Declines. 


451 


'^ 


victory  of  St.  Quentin ;  he  took  deep  interest  in 
Philip's  financial  regulations,  and  varied  his  conventual 
life  in  a  manner  at  first  most  beneficial  to  his  health. 
His  sisters  he  loved  tenderly,  and  the  death  of  Eleanor, 
queen  dowager  of  France  and  Portugal,  in  1558,  gave 
him  a  deep  shock.  He  thundered  from  his  mountain 
retreat  against  heresy,   and  zealously  encouraged  the 


Charles  V. 

inquisition  in  its  development.  Monastic  life  intensified 
his  bigotry,  while  it  could  not  check  his  appetites  or  his 
relish  for  eel-pie  and  capons.  His  health,  however, 
declined ;  he  is  said  to  have  gone  through  the  singular 
ceremony  of  having  funeral  obsequies  performed  over 
himself  in  the  chapel,  which  was  hung  with  black  and 


Ilti 


452  Reign  of  Charles  V.  and  Juana. 

blazed  with  innumerable  wax-lights ;  and  he  developed 
a  fantastic  inclination  for  dismal  rites  and  the  lugubrious 
and  dramatic  side  of  church  spectacles.  In  August, 
alarming  symptoms  showed  themselves ;  he  began  to 
pass  much  time  in  rapt  contemplation  before  the  beau- 
tiful features  of  his  dead  wife,  and  before  Titian's 
Agony  in  the  garden ;  and  he  executed  a  codicil  to  his 
will,  in  which  he  conjured  Philip  to  exterminate  every 
heretic  in  his  dominions  and  to  cherish  the  Inquisition. 
With  the  holy  taper  clasped  in  one  hand  and  the  cru- 
cifix in  the  other,  fixing  his  dying  eyes  on  the  sacred 
symbol,  while  the  archbishop  of  Toledo  repeated  the  De 
Profiindis,  he  expired  on  the  21st  of  September,  1558, 
in  the  fifty-ninth  very  of  his  age.  Thus  the  empire  of 
the  Caesars,  more  vast  in  extent,  and  more  absolutely 
held  than  since  the  days  of  Charlemagne,  was  left 
desolate. 


OURBONS. 

i 

d  Two  Sicilies, 


Portug-al. 
of  England. 
'.  of  France, 
nilian  II. 


C3) 


2.  Isabella  =  Al 
ob.  s.  p.  1633. 
Sovereigns  of 

a  =f  Einp.  Ferdinand  III 

I        


rgaret  Theresa  =f(i)  En 

tivariayMaria  Antonia. 
eph  Ferdinand*, 
[)b.  s.  p.  1699. 


I.  of  Frederick 
,  of  Saxony. 


Ma; 


(Emp.  Francis  I.) 

1 ' 1      _ 

>eopold  II.      Caroline  — 

I 


3.  FRANCIS  I,     Maria: 
1S25-1S30.      Theresa. 

u 


(Pet« 


iJhristina.  c.  Theresa=Pet 

of  Br 


Mary,  of  =  F; 
Bavaria. 


/ 


/ 


THE     HABSBURGS     AND     BOURBONS. 


Including  Bourbon  Princes  in  Parma  ani  Two  Sicilies. 

1 

PHILIP  U,  (i)  =  Maria,  dau.  of  John  III  of  Portugal. 
1556-1598.       (3)  =  Mary,  dau.  of  Henry  Vlliof  England. 

(3)  =  Elizabtth.dau.ofHenry  II  of  France. 

(4)  =  Anne,  dau.  of  Emp.  MaxiiOilian  II. 


(0 


(4) 


(3) 


(3) 


»  Recognized  heir  of  Charles  II  of  Spain  until  his  death. 

*>  Rival  claimants  of  Spain  after  Charles  II,  the  elder  brother  of  each  re. 
signing  his  pretensions. 

c  Deposed  by  Napoleon,  1S07 ;  restored  to  Parma  on  death  of  Maria  Louisa, 
Napoleon's  widow,  in  1S47. 

d  Ferdinand  VII  was  proclaimed  on  his  father's  resignation,  but  was  set 
aside  by  Napoleon,  and  replaced  by  Joseph  Buonaparte  till  1S14. 


I.     Don  Carlos, 
ob.  s.  p.  156S. 


4.  PHILIP  III,  y  Margaret,  sister  of 
159S-1631.  Emp.  Ferdinand  II. 


3.     Catharine  =  Charles  Emanuel  I, 

of  Savoy. 


2.  Isabella  =  Albert,  son  of  Emp. 
ob.  s.  p.  1633.     Maximilian  II. 
Sovereigns  of  the  Netherlands. 


I.vOuis  XIII  of  — Anne. 
France. 


I..ouis  X 


PHILIP  IV,  (0  =  Elizabeth,  dau.  of  Henry  IV,  of  France. 
16^1-1655.  


Maria  T  Emp.  Ferdinand  III. 


(0 


(3)  —  Maria. 


(3) 


V  =■  1 7  Maria  Theresa. 


Louis. 
— I 


3.     CHARLES  II,  (0  Maria  Louisa,  of  Orleans. 
1655-1700,  ob.  s.  p.  (2)  =-;  Maria  Anna,  of  Neuburg. 


a.  Mafg 


'garet  Theresa  ==  (0  Emp.  Leopold  I,  (3)  T  Eleanor,  of  Neuburg. 
I  I  ob.  1705 


IvOuis,  D.  of  Burgundy. 

(0 


PHILIP  Vb,  res.  1734 ;(i)  =  Maria  Louisa,  dau.  of  Victor  Airadeus  II, 
resumed  crown,  1725;  of  Savoy. 

ob.  1746.               (2)  ^  Isabella  Farnese,  ultimately  heiress  of  Parma 
(0  I  (^) 


Max  Emanuel,  of  B^variayMaria  Antonia.        Joseph  I,  ob.  1711. 

jofteph  Ferdinand", 
^.  s.  p.  1699. 

(2) 


Charles  VI**. 


Parma. 


Louisa,  dau.  of  :=  LOUIS,  1724-1725, 
Regent  Orleans.  ob.  s.  p. 


FERDINAND  VI,  =  Magdalen,  dau.  of 
1746-1759,  ob.  s.  p.        John  V,  of  Portugal. 


CHARLES  m.l^Maria  Amelia,  dail-  of  Frederick 
1759-17S8.  Augustus  lib  of  Saxony. 


Maria  Anna  =  Joseph,  of  Portugal. 


Louisa  Maria,  =  3.  CHARLES  IV, 

17SS-1S0S,  res. 


of  Parma. 


1 — ^ 

4.  Gabriel. 

+ 


PHILIP,  ob.  1765.  —Maria  Louisa,  dau.  of 

I     Louis  XV,  of  France. 
., 1 -t 


(Emp.  Francis  I.) 


Two  Sicilies. 

1 


j- 


-t 


Charles  IV,  of  —  Louisa  Maria. 
Spain. 


FERDINAND, 

ob.  1S03. 
, 1 , 


-r 


I.  Charlotte  =f  John  VI  of  Portugal. 

1 1 


-r 


Louis,  =  2.  Maria 

K.  of         Louisa.  ,  , 

Etruria.  4.  Charles,    =  Francesca.     Isabella,=(2)  3.  FERDINAND  VIP,(i)=Maria  Antonia, dau.  of 

.    _r  »r_i.-__  Maria=(3)  1S14-1S33.  Ferdinand  I,  of  Two  Sicilies 

Josepha,  1 

of  Saxony.  (4)  —  Christina 


5.  Maria  —  Francis  I,  of 
Two  Sicilies. 


C.  of  Molina, 
ob.  1S55. 


I.  Maria  Louisa  -=  Emp.  tfeopold  II.      Caroline  —  3.  FERDINAND  1, 1759-1S25. 

I  r- 


Charles, 
C.  of  Montemolin, 
ob.  s.  p.  1S61. 


John  =  Mary  Beatrix, 
dau,  of 
Francis   IV, 


(4) 


(4) 


1 

Charles 


Margaret,  dau.  of 
Charies  III, 
of  Parma. 


of  Modena.     2.  Louisa  =:  Antoine,  D.  of    1.  ISABELLA  II,  =r  Francis 

Montpensier.  1S33-1S6S,  dep  |-(i) 

I i  I. 


Maria  ^^  (0 
Clementina. 
Louisa  y  6.  Francis    Maria,  dau.  of  =^  (3) 
I   de  Paula.        Charles  IV 
I  of  Spain. 

-J 

(2)  r- 


(Emp.  Leopold  II.) 

»  I ' 1 

iriT  —  f  0  3-  FRANCIS  I,     Maria  =  Emp.  Ferdinand  I1I,=  2.  Louisa  4.  Maria  =r  Louis 

1S25-1S30.       Theresa.  Francis  II.        of  Tuscany.        Amelia.  Amelia.    Philippe, 

J I  of  France. 


Maria  Louisa  -p  LOUIS,  K.  of         Caroline  =  Maximilian, 
j    Etruria,  ob.  1S03.  of  Saxony. 

— -r-  + -I 


L 


5.  Maria  =  (i)  Ferdinand  VII, 
Antonia.  of  Spain. 

1 


(Victor  Emanuel  I,  of  Sardinia.) 


Alfonso. 


Caroline  =  Ciiarles, 
D.  of 


(Charles  IV,  of  Spain.) 
r ^— 1 


(Peter  I,  of  Brazil.) 
1 ' 1 


Daughters. 


ALFONSO  XII, 

proclaimed  King, 
Jan.  1S75. 


Berri.  2.  Louisa^Franc  s     Ferdinand=3.  ^'h"stina.  5.  Theresa=Peter  11,  Jan-    -r  6  Louis, 
de  Paula.         VII.  of  Brazil,    uaria.     I      C.  of 

(O 


CHARLES  LOUISS 
res.  1S49. 


4.  FERDINAND  II, (i)  =  Christina.    Theresa 
1S30-1S59.  (2) -j- Theresa,  of 

Austria. 

CHARLES  III.  =Louisa,  dau. 
Aquila.  I  ob.  1S54.  of  Charles, 

(3)  (3)  D.  of  Berri. 


Mary,  of  : 
Bavaria. 


FRANCIS  II, 
dep.  1S60. 


Pia=  ROBERT, 

dep.  1S60. 


P.  Charles,  =  Margaret, 
of  Spain 


J 


CHAPTER   XIX. 


SPAIN  UNDER  PHILIP  11. 


PHILIP,  as  we  have  seen,  was  already  twenty-nine 
when  the  helm  of  government  passed  into  his 
hands.     He  was  born  at  Valladolid,  May  21,  1527. 

In  1528  the  royal  baby  had  bonfires  and  illuminations 
lighted  for  him,  bull-fights  and  tournaments  of  reeds 
fou2:ht  in  his  honor,  and  chivalrous  and  romantic  cere- 
monies  performed,  all  in  celebration  of  his  recognition 
by  the  Castilian  cortes,  as  rightful  heir  to  this  unrivalled 
empire.  Two  functionaries  were  entrusted  with  his 
education  —  the  complaisant  Juan  Martinez  Siliceo,  an 
humble  but  scholastically-trained  doctor  of  Salamanca, 
and  Don  Juan  de  Zuniga.  Ancient  languages,  French, 
Italian,  mathematics,  architecture,  painting,  and  sculp- 
ture, for  some  of  which  Philip  showed  peculiar  aptitude, 
were  taught  him  by  Siliceo.  A  knowledge  of  tilting 
and  tourneying,  fencing,  riding,  and  other  invigorating 
accomplishments,  together  with  the  duties  belonging  to 
his  royal  station,  was  imparted  by  the  grandee  Zuniga. 

Twelve  years  after  her  marriage  with  Charles,  Isa- 
bella died ;  and  thus  Philip  was  bereft  of  his  mother's 
high  and  generous  teachings.  Surrounded  as  he  was 
from  the  beginning,  however,  by  statesmen  of  wisdom 

455 


456 


Spain  under  Philip  II. 


m 


and  experience,  he  soon  became  familiar  with  govern- 
ment and  its  workings,  and  what  buoyancy  he  may  have 
had  was  crushed  out  of  him  by  the  serious  and  respon- 
sible nature  of  the  position  which  he  occupied.  The 
emperor  being  almost  continually  absent,  and  visiting 
Spain  only  when  his  exchequer  needed  replenishing, 
Philip  was  thrust  forward  into  great  prominence ;  was 
intrusted  with  the  regency  under  a  council  consisting 
of  Alva,  Cardinal  Tavera,  and  Cobos,  and  almost  from 
the  beginning  w'as  bidden  by  his  father  to  depend  on 
nobody  but  himself,  to  avoid  being  governed  by  the 
grandees,  and  in  his  perplexities  lean  exclusively  on  his 
Maker.  Philip's  character  thus  ripened  early  into  a 
firm,  granite-hard,  cautious,  and  calculating  texture, 
which  afforded  his  father  untold  satisfaction,  and  gave 
him  hopes  that  the  empire  would  lose  nothing  in  force 
when  it  had  to  be  transmitted  to  his  son.  His  only 
child  by  his  first  wife,  Maria  of  Portugal,  married  in 
1543,  and  dead  in  less  than  two  years,  was  Don  Carlos, 
of  evil  and  pathetic  memor}^ 

In  the  autumn  of  1548  Philip,  having  by  his  father's 
command  temporarily  surrendered  the  regency  into  the 
hands  of  Maximilian,  son  of  his  uncle  Ferdinand,  and 
his  sister  Maria,  Maximilian's  wife,  set  out  with  a  bril- 
liant retinue  for  Flanders,  on  a  visit  to  his  father.  His 
household,  very  different  from  the  stately  yet  simple 
customs  of  his  ancestors,  was  now  thronged  with  cere- 
monious figures,  gathered  from  the  usages  and  traditions 
of  Burgundy.  Even  his  bed-chamber  and  his  table 
were  served  by  men  of  rank  ;  there  were  splendid  state 
dinners  in  public  ;  minstrels,  musicians,  grandees  of  the 
purest  water  as  chamberlains,  captain  of  the  body-guard 


Philip  inarries  Mary. 


457 


and  major-domo.  Everything  moved  to  a  resplendent 
ceremonial,  in  cadence  as  it  were,  accompanied  by  an 
elegant  hospitality  and  profusion. 

Philip  traversed  Genoa,  the  battle-field  of  Pavia, 
laden  for  him  with  glorious  souvenirs  of  Spanish  valor ; 
Milan,  where  we  see  him  dancing,  with  light  and  agile 
figure  ;  Tyrol,  Heidelberg,  and  Flanders  ;  receiving  with 
gracious  condescension  the  civilities  everywhere  heaped 
upon  him,  especially,  we  may  imagine,  the  goblets  of 
golden  ducats  with  which  many  cities  accompanied 
their  complimentary  addresses.  His  personality —  blue 
eyes,  yellow  hair  and  beard,  slight,  symmetric  figure, 
Austrian  lip,  and  ceremonious  demeanor  —  was  not 
unpleasing  or  unintellectual.  His  tastes  were  too  re- 
served and  quiet,  however,  to  recommend  him  to  the 
boisterous  Netherlanders. 

After  presenting  himself  in  the  Low  Countries,  taking 
long  and  careful  lessons  in  public  affairs  and  the  art  of 
government  in  the  cabinet  of  his  father,  accompanying 
Charles  to  the  diet  of  Augsburg  in  1550,  where  his  effort  to 
procure  Philip's  election  as  king  of  the  Romans  proved 
abortive,  Philip  withdrew  from  the  importunate  festivi- 
ties of  the  Flemings,  their  masques,  dances,  and  uproar- 
ious mirth,  and  stole  like  a  sombre  shadow  out  of  all 
this  sunshine  back  to  Barcelona  in  155 1.  Here  at  least 
he  felt  himself  at  home  among  a  people,  as  has  been 
said,  with  the  exception  of  the  Jews,  more  distinguished 
than  any  other  for  their  intense  spirit  of  nationality. 

Philip's  union  with  Mary  of  England  in  1554  has 
already  been  incidentally  spoken  of.  Betrothed  origi- 
nally to  the  emperor,  Mary  was  now  courted  by  him  for 
his  son.      After   some  coquetry  hardly  natural  in  a  wo- 


458 


Spain  under  Philip   TL 


man  of  thirty  six,  Mary  yielded  ;  and  it  was  said  of  her 
marriage  treaty,  that  it  looked  more  like  a  defence 
against  an  enemy  than  a  marriage  compact,  so  cau- 
tiously guarded  were  its  stipulations. 

England,  under  the  reign  of  this  happy  pair,  was 
restored  to  the  communion  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  —  a  consummation  accompanied  by  abundant 
clouds  of  incense  from  Smithfield  market-place.  In  the 
course  of  time  Mary,  imagining  herself  near  her  con- 
finement, was  saluted  with  Te  Deums,  bell-ringings,  and 
bonfires;  "but,"  quaintly  remarks  Holinshed,  "  in  the 
end  appeared  neither  young  maister  nor  young  mistress 
that  any  man  to  this  day  can  hear  of ! " 

Charles's  proposed  abdication  in  1555  necessitated 
Philip's  absence  from  England;  so,  accompanied  by  a 
bright  troop  of  English  and  Castilian  grandees,  he 
went  over  to  the  Flemish  capital  in  great  state,  arriving 

in  September. 

We  have  described,  in  faint  outlines  the  thrilling 
scene  of  Charles's  abdication  in  Brussels — leaving  to 
Philip  such  an  empire  as  the  Caesars  had  never  dreamed 
of.  Family  alliances,  inheritance,  and  the  Spanish  nav- 
igators had  all  but  compassed  the  globe  to  bestow  their 
richest  gifts  prodigally  on  this  only  son  of  a  great  king  ; 
a  knight  whose  lady  was  Catholicism,  for  Philip  was 
temporally  the  mightiest  of  Catholic  potentates,  and  it 
was  his  highest  ambition  to  devote  himself  Christianly 
and  humbly  to  the  service  of  his  church. 

The  truce  of  Vaucelles,  made  between  Charles  and 
Henry  II.,  in  1556,  was  now  violated  by  Henry,  who  was 
absolved  from  his  oath  by  Paul  IV.,  the  bitter  enemy 
of  Philip.     The  complaisant  theologians  of  Salamanca, 


Siege  of  St.  Quentin, 


459 


Alcala,  and  Valladolid,  justified  Philip  in  taking  up 
arms  against  the  pope  ;  accordingly  he  sent  word  to  his 
lieutenant,  the  Duke  of  Alva,  to  take  measures  for  the 
protection  of  Naples,  menaced  by  his  holiness. 

The  first  three  years  of  Philip's  reign  were  distin- 
guished by  remarkable  successes. 

Italy  proved  the  "  grave  of  France."  The  Duke  of 
Guise,  who  commanded  the  French,  retired  with  his 
soldiers,  scattered  and  crestfallen,  across  the  Alps. 
Paul,  who  had  called  in  the  aid  of  the  French,  said  thaT 
f/iey  might  easily  be  dislodged,  but  that  "  the  Spaniards 
were  like  dog-grass,  which  is  sure  to  strike  root  wherever 
it  is  cast." 

.  Emanuel  Philibert  of  Savoy,  a  tried  general,  com- 
manded Philip's  forces  in  France,  which,  exclusive  of 
the  English,  amounted  to  thirty-five  thousand  foot, 
twelve  thousand  horse,  and  a  line  train  of  artillery. 
The  most  brilliant  action  of  the  war  w^as  the  siege  of 
St.  Quentin,  an  ancient  town  on  the  frontier  of  Picardy, 
held  by  Gaspard  de  Coligny,  the  Protestant  martyr  of 
St.  Bartholomew.  Pure,  austere,  intrepid,  and  full  of 
resource,  Coligny  was  just  the  man  to  command  a  des- 
perate position  like  that  of  this  dilapidated,  river-gir- 
dled city.  Though  Montmorency  hastened  to  his  help 
with  the  chivalry  of  France,  the  lilies  of  France  were 
no  match  for  the  combined  battalions  of  Spain,  Flan- 
ders, and  England. 

Philip,  who  visited  the  place  the  day  of  the  great  bat- 
tle of  St.  Quentin,  in  1557,  did  not  follow  up  his  victory 
and  march  on  Paris,  preferring  to  push  the  siege  of  the 
town  by  means  of  battering-trains,  mines,  and  starva- 
tion. 


460 


Spain  under  Philip  II. 


After  nearly  a  month's  siege,  during  which  it  had 
maintained  itself  against  the  most  powerful  monarch  in 
Europe,  the  city  surrendered. 

This  campaign  was  especially  distinguished  from 
others  of  this  reign  by  its  being  the  only  campaign  at 
which  Philip  was  personally  present. 

Negotiations  for  peace  were  soon  opened.  Cardinal 
Granvelle  (son  of  Charles  V.'s  celebrated  chancellor), 
William  of  Orange,  and  the  Duke  of  Alva,  —  all  per- 
sonages of  supreme  importance  in  the  after  history  of 
the  Netherlands,  —  were  the  agents  selected  by  Philip 
to  represent  his  interests,  while  Montmorency,  Marshal 
St.  Andre,  and  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  represented 
the  French. 

The  treaty  of  Cateau-Cambresis  was  arranged  in 
1559,  England,  France,  and  Spain,  being  the  contract- 
ing parties.  The  difficulty  of  bringing  the  English  to 
relinquish  Calais  — "  When  I  die,"  said  Mary,  "Calais 
will  be  found  wTitten  on  my  heart,"  —  had  protracted 
the  negotiations  to  the  April  of  this  year ;  but  the 
whole  resulted  greatly  to  the  glory  of  Spain  and  the 
discredit  of  France.  Philip  received  two  hundred 
towns  in  Italy  and  the  Netherlands  for  the  five  he  held 
in  Picardy.  Rome  humbled,  France  virtually  van- 
quished, Naples  and  Picardy  illustrated  by  honorable 
successes,  Philip  may  well  be  said  to  have  wiped  out,  in 
the  beginning  of  his  reign,  the  legacy  of  failures  be- 
queathed him  at  the  close  of  his  father's.  The  union 
between   the  enemies  was  further  cemented  by  a  mar- 


riage. 


Mary's  brief  and  painful   reign  had  ended  with   her 
death  in  1558. 


A71  Ominous  Marriage. 


461 


Hardly  a  month  after  her  decease  Philip  had  the  au- 
dacity to  propose,  though  without  success,  to  her  sister 
Elizabeth,  who  had  now^  ascended  the  throne.  An  offer 
so  purely  political  could  not  keenly  concern  Philip's 
heart ;  he  solaced  himself  for  this  and  for  the  loss  of 
England  with  contracting  in  1559  a  third  alliance,  this 
time  with  Isabella  of  France,  daughter  of  Henry  II., 
intended  at  one  time  as  the  future  bride  of  the  young 
Don  Carlos. 

An  ominous  marriage,  mournfully  celebrated  by  the 
death  of  Henry  in  a  tournament  with  the  Scotch  Count 
of  Montgomery,  during  the  nuptial  festivities,  and  the 
cloud  that  hangs  over  Don  Carlos.  The  Huguenots 
may  have  rejoiced  in  the  death  of  Henry,  the  would-be 
exterminator  of  the  Protestant  heresy  in  France;  but 
in  the  clutch  of  Catharine  de  Medici  and  her  descend- 
ants, who  succeeded  him,  they  soon  had  occasion  to 
repent  of  their  ill-considered  joy. 

As  Philip's  difficulties  with  the  Netherlands  —  that 
transcendent  episode  of  his  reign  —  soon  begin,  it  will 
be  well  to  cast  a  glance  over  the  condition  of  things  in 
that  country  at  this  time. 

The  provinces,  countries,  duchies,  and  lordships  con- 
stituting the  seventeen  states  of  the  Netherlands,  were 
anciently  distinct  and  independent  states,  each  gov- 
erned by  its  own  petty  sovereign.  Infinite  toil  and  per- 
tinacity, intrepid  voyages,  extensive  commerce,  the  con- 
cession of  important  political  privileges  on  the  part  of 
their  princes,  the  rapid  growth  of  communities,  and  the 
remarkably  free  institutions  of  the  Netherlanders  soon 
conspired  to  produce  a  degree  of  wealth  and  civiliza- 
tion there  that  rivalled  that  of  the  Adriatic  and   Medi- 


462 


Spain  u7iofer  Philip  IL 


terranean  states.  Sturdily  independent,  and  sharply 
individualized,  however;  speaking  different  languages 
and  belonging  to  different  races ;  full  of  feuds  and  ani- 
mosities towards  one  another,  and  repugnant  to  a  consol- 
idation into  one  monarchy ;  they  preferred  their  sepa- 
rate existence,  cultivated  the  arts  of  peace,  prospered 
commercially,  and  formed  a  sort  of  republic  tributary  to 
the  House  of  Austria. 

There  was  a  supreme  court  of  appeals  at  Mechlin 
and  a  general  legislative  assembly  (states-general)  com- 
posed of  deputies  from  the  provinces,  the  clergy,  and 
the  nobility ;  but  the  power  of  the  states-general  was  at 
once  loose  and  circumscribed,  and  its  movements  so 
cumbrous  that  it  could  do  nothing,  not  even  impose 
taxes,  without  the  sanction  of  each  provincial  legis- 
lature. 

Charles's  Flemish  birth  made  him  popular  among  the 
Netherlanders,  and  enabled  him  to  gain  a  personal  as- 
cendency over  the  higher  nobles,  which  ended  in  a 
subtle  and  unperceived  undermining  of  their  ancient 
prerogatives.  He  gave  them  the  highest  posts  in 
Spain,  opened  to  the  people  an  unlimited  trading  area 
in  his  immense  possessions,  sagaciously  cherished  the 
material  interests  — manufactures,  husbandry,  fertiliza- 
tion by  canals,  agriculture  —  of  his  favorite  people,  and 
administered  to  the  growth  of  large  cities  like  Ghent 
(seventy  thousand  inhabitants),  Brussels,  (seventy-five 
thousand),  and  Antwerp,  (one  hundred  thousand),  —  in 
every  possible  way. 

A  busy,  laborious,  ingenious  population  thus  swarmed 
through  the  Netherlands;  their  fleets  navigated  every 
sea;   their  great   fairs  gave  a  vivid  pictorial  meeting- 


f 

'■■ 


■*!»■,*-      fet 


ALCAZAR  OF  TOLEDO. 


The  Netherlands, 


465 


> 


point  for  intercourse  between  the  varied  nationalities ; 
liberal  municipal  rights  attracted  foreigners ,  capitalists 
from  every  clime  filled  the  Dutch  banking-houses ; 
noble  exchanges  and  cathedrals  were  erected  ;  illiteracy 
was  rare,  and  a  school  of  painting,  characterized  by 
exquisite  humor,  genius  for  landscape  and  portrait- 
painting,  and  a  matchless  reproduction  of  homely  bur- 
gher life,  grew  up  in  the  opulent  cities,  hand  in  hand 
with  the  luxurious  habits,  dress,  and  style  of  living  of 
the  higher  population. 

The  introduction  of  Protestantism  soon  resulted  from 
the  intercourse  between  Germany  and  the  Netherlands. 
The  reformation  spread  among  the  Flemish  provinces, 
nobility,  and  people.  Catholicism,  with  its  kindled 
imagination,  poetic  sensibilities,  and  pageant-like  acces- 
sories, lost  its  sway  over  these  simple,  practical,  reason- 
loving  people :  and  freedom  of  speculative  inquiry  — 
an  innovation  dreaded  by  Charles  —  established  itself 
among  all  classes.  From  1520  to  1550  the  emperor 
fulminated  edict  after  edict  against  the  heretical  Neth- 
erlanders,  menacing  them  with  "  fire,  pit,  and  sword  "  if 
they  did  not  return  to  their  ancient  church.  Indigna- 
tion, terror,  flight,  were  the  effects  of  these  edicts  —  a 
system  based  on  the  tribunal  of  the  inquisition  and 
having  as  its  enginery,  imprisonment,  torture,  confisca- 
tion, banishment,  death. 

A  slight  security  was  in  1546  afforded  the  people  of 
the  Netherlands,  by  their  own  regular  courts  of  justice, 
since  no  sentence  whatever  could  be  pronounced  by  an 
inquisitor  without  the  sanction  of  some  member  of  the 
provincial  council.  The  free  and  independent  charac- 
ter of  the  population,  however,  prevented  the  complete 


vis0atSmm0iit 


466 


Spain  under  Philip  IL 


establishment  of  the  Holy  Office  in  all  its  rigor.  They 
execrated  the  iniquities  of  the  institution  as  personified 
in  the  tragical  Spanish  auto  de  fi  (act  of  faith),  and 
would  not,  as  they  hinted,  let  the  Day  of  Judgment  be 
forestalled  on  earth  and  supplanted  by  the  utterances 
of  a  grand  inquisitor.  Still  there  were  victims  enough ; 
and  the  crackle  of  its  fires,  the  thunder  of  its  edicts, 
and  the  cries  of  its  victims,  tell  us  that  for  thirty  years 
the  workings  of  the  Inquisition  were  not  altogether 
unsatisfactory  here.  Charles,  however,  had  too  much 
need  of  money  to  make  his  religious  sensibilities  con- 
spicuous ;  the  Netherlands  were  his  purse  ;  and  he  had 
to  confess  at  last,  with  bitterness,  that  circumstances 
had  compelled  him  to  permit  the  growth  of  heresy  there. 

In  1559,  Philip  returned  to  Spain,  never  again  to 
visit  the  Low  Countries.  He  had  left  behind,  Egmont, 
as  governor  of  Flanders  and  Artois,  and  the  Prince  of 
Orange  as  governor  of  Holland,  Zealand,  Utrecht,  and 
West  Friesland ;  while  two  battalions  of  Spanish  sol- 
diers, now  thoroughly  detested  by  the  people,  were  left 
with  them.  Granvelle,  a  suave,  polished,  but  ambitious 
ecclesiastic,  recommended  by  Charles  to  Philip ,  Count 
Barlaitnont,  and  the  erudite  jurist  Viglius,  composed 
the  advisory  body  to  be  consulted  by  the  lady-regent, 
Margaret  of  Parma,  natural  daughter  of  Charles  V. 

Philip  repelled  the  Netherlanders  by  his  icy  reserve, 
his  lack  of  enthusiasm,  his  religious  melancholy,  and  his 
ungenial  austerity.  They  contrasted  his  partiality  for 
the  Spaniards,  the  etiquette  and  ceremonial  he  kept  up, 
and  the  gloom  of  his  surroundings  with  Charles's  love 
of  their  people,  his  easy  manners,  and  approachability. 
Philip's  growing  unpopularity  took  an  almost  tragical 


Martyr-Fires  of  Protestantism, 


467 


turn,  moreover  when  he  attempted  to  enforce  certain 
religious  edicts,  which  created  fourteen  new  bishop- 
rics and  three  archbishoprics  as  a  salutary  exchange 
for  the  three  existing  enormous  bishoprics  of  Arras, 
Tournay,  and  Utrecht. 

Margaret,  duchess  of  Parma,  received  her  appoint- 
ment in  1559,  to  rule  in  Philip's  absence  ;  and  as  she 
was  of  Flemish  birth  her  appointment  seemed  auspi- 
But  she  fully  endorsed  her  half  brother's  famous 


cious. 


saying,  "  Better  not  reign  at  all  than  reign  over  here- 
tics,"—  a  principle  that  enslaved  him  to  an  inexorable 
superstition. 

The  next  six  years  are  of  great  significance  in  the 
history  of  Spain  and  the  Netherlands.  The  reformed 
doctrines,  crushed  out  of  Spain  by  the  Inquisition  and 
the  ai^fo  de  fi,  as  the  Jewish  and  Mahometan  heresies 
had  been,  now  developed  in  the  xVetherlands  into  a  sort 
of  sacred  patriotism  and  passionate  representative  to 
them  of  whatever  was  most  precious  in  matters  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty.  Spain  might  be  lurid  with  the 
martyr-fires  of  Protestantism ;  Granada,  Barcelona, 
Toledo,  and  Seville  might  be  wrapped  in  the  smoke  of 
the  torment  of  Lutherans ;  church  holidays,  Sundays, 
and  public  squares  might  be  made  cheerful  with  the 
agonies  of  multitudes  dragged  from  the  dungeons  of  the 
Inquisition ;  and  one  by  one  the  gentle  lights  of  Chris- 
tianity be  extinguished  by  the  fingers  of  the  priests  :  in 
the  Netherlands  the  love  of  toleration  had  rooted  itself, 
and  no  power  on  earth — not  even  Philip's,  not  even 
the  cardinal-archbishop  of  Seville's,  grand  Inquisitor 
and  what  not  —  could  trample  it  out. 


468 


Spain  under  Philip  TL 


So,  while  nobles  and  gentlewomen,  bishops  and  dig- 
nitaries, writhed  at  the  stake,  did  humiliating  penance, 
or  were  ''reconciled,"  and  the  fires,  for  lack  of  material,' 
gradually  slackened,  till  by  1570  they  gleaned  only  a 
solitary  Lutheran  here  and  there  for  the  delectation  of 
the  spectacle-loving  grandees  ;  while  speculative,  physi- 
cal, and  practical  science,  literature,  and  culture,  were 
mute,  or  merged   in  a  theology  with  which  innovation 
was  a  crime  ;  the  very  principle  thus  destructive  to  Spain 
struck  ineradicable  roots  in  Holland,  and  gave- birth 
not  only  to  liberty,  but  to  an  intense  intellectual  activity 
in  due  proportion  to  the  efforts  made  to  extinguish  it. 

Denmark,  Sweden,  England,  and  France  were  deeply 
agitated  by  the  same  questions  falling  from  the  lips  of 
Knox,  Calvin,  and   their  compeers.     Even  a  king  of 
Navarre  had  declared  himself  a  Protestant.     And  per- 
haps it  would  have  fared  ill  with  Catholicism,  had  not 
Philip,  tolerant  of  no  other  religion,  "  offered  a  coun- 
terpoise to  the   Protestant  cause,   which  prevented  it 
from  making  itself  master  of  Europe."     Unphilosoph- 
ical,  bigoted,  making  the  maintenance  of  Catholicism 
a  point  of  honor,  he  erred  capitally  in  giving  so  much 
authority  to  foreigners  in  the  Netherlands— particularly 
to   the   unscrupulous   Granvelle  —  and   excluding   the 
princes  to  whom  he  owed  St.  Quentin  and  Gravelines. 
He  did  not  take  proper  measures  to  employ  or  satisfy 
the  hordes  of  inferior  aristocracy  and  disbanded  sol- 
diery vagabondizing  through  the  land  and  producing 
crying  discontent.      He  did  not  fulfil   his  promise  of 
removing  the  hated  Spanish  troops  until    1561,  more 
than  a  year  after  he  had  stipulated  to  do  so. 


Orange  and  Egmont. 


469 


While  the  great  nobles  affected  devotion  to  the  estab- 
lished religion,  some  of  them  were  far  from  feeling  it. 
Troubles  arose  in  which  the  Lad\    Margaret  accused 
Orange  and  Egmont  of  fomenting  discord  between  the 
people  and  the  crown.     Granvelle's  usurpation,  zeal, 
and  arrogance  provoked  open  war  with  the  nobles,  who 
refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  him.     Philip,  pas- 
sionately urged  by  the  regent  to  come  personally  to  the 
Netherlands  to  arrange  matters,  to  suggest  a  way  out  of 
difficulties,  delayed  and  delayed,  doing  so  with  an  indif- 
ference that  soon  became  characteristic  of  all  his  move- 
ments.    A  league  was  formed  against  Granvelle.     Even 
Margaret,  who  had  formerly  enthusiastically  upheld  her 
minister,  gave  way  before  the  storm  of  opposition,  and 
prayed   for  his    dismissal.      Philip    deliberated,    dilly- 
dallied, temporized.    .Finally,   in   1564,  he  discharged 
Granvelle  —  intelligence  of   which   was    received   with 
frantic  joy  ;    and    the  minister   soon  quitted    Brussels 
never  to  return. 

Philip  in  his  policy  with  the  Netherlands,  haunted  by 
superstitious  shadows,  fancied  himself  continually 
treading  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father.  But  the  people 
had  changed.  Calvinists,  Lutherans,  Jews,  swarmed 
among  them.  He  himself  was  heartily  disliked  as  a 
Spaniard.  He  had  made  deplorable  missteps ;  he  had 
retraced  them  ;  but  with  an  obstinacy  inflexible  as  steel 
he  now  joined  issue  with  the  people  themselves  in  a 
struggle  of  life  and  death. 

Philip  declared  he  would  rather  lose  a  hundred  thou- 
sand lives,  if  he  had  so  many,  than  allow  a  single 
change  in  matters  of  religion. 


470 


Spain  under  Philip  IL 


^     1 


At  length,  dragged  out  of  his  mask  of  deceit,  delay, 
and  perfidy,  and  losing  his  temper  over  the  persistent  cry 
from  the  Netherlands  for  reform,  he  flashed  out  of  his 
silence  in  the  letter  from  the  Wood  of  Segovia,  in  Octo- 
ber 1565,  and  at  once  destroyed  all  hopes  of  religious 
toleration,  virtually  established  the  inquisition  in  the 
Flemish  towns,  and  called  forth  the  '*  Compromise." 


CATTLE  MERCHANT  OF  CORDOVA. 


CHAPTER    XX. 


THE   STRUGGLE   IN   THE   NETHERLANDS. 

THE  "  Compromise  "  was  a  document  proceeding 
from  a  body  of  twenty  young  cavaliers,  who  met 
in  Count  Culemborg's  palace  at  Brussels,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  talking  over  the  evils  of  the  country.  In  this 
document  they  bound  themselves  by  a  solemn  oath  to 
resist  the  Inquisition  ;  and  protect  one  another  in  it  with 
their  lives  and  fortunes. 

Copies  of  the  "  Compromise  "  were  soon  circulated, 
and  enormous  numbers,  Catholics  and  Protestants 
equally,  signed  their  names  to  it  at  once.  Orange's 
young  brother,  Louis,  Count  of  Nassau,  Philip  de 
Marnix,  Henry  of  Brederode,  and  other  prominent 
nobles  were  ring-leaders  in  the  league.  The  greatest 
of  the  great  lords,  however,  as  yet  held  aloof.  A  panic 
spread  through  the  land  and  thousands  sought  refuge 
in  England  from  the  impending  calamities.  William  of 
Orange,  habitually  cautious,  temperate,  and  quiet, 
acted  with  extreme  prudence,  and  had  not  yet  identified 
himself  with  the  movement;  while  Egmont,  impulsive, 
knightly-tempered,  a  devout  Catholic  and  eloquently 
loyal  at  this  great  crisis,  could  not  desert  the  distressed 

4T3 


474 


Spain  under  Philip  IL 


and  perplexed  regent  but  continued  to  stand  by  her  at 
this  critical  moment  like  the  noble  knight  and  gentle- 
man that  he  was. 

But  as  the  contest  proceeded,  the  figure  of  William  of 
Orange,  came  out  clearer  and  clearer.  At  first  shadowy, 
undecided,  reserved,  we  see  him  supporting  the  bent 
form  of  Charles  V.,  on  the  striking  occasion  of  his  ab- 
dication. Lord  of  Breda,  Chalons,  and  Orange  (a 
principality  in  the  heart  of  France),  he  had  been  bred  a 
Catholic  in  the  family  of  the  emperor's  sister,  the  Queen 
of  Hungary,  formerly  regent.  Early  manifesting  extra- 
ordinary qualities,  which  he  showed  on  the  battle-field 
and  in  diplomatic  missions,  he  was  selected  by  Charles 
for  the  honorable  office  of  bearing  the  imperial  crown 
to  Ferdinand.  One  of  the  hostages  detained  in  France 
for  the  proper  execution  of  the  treaty  of  Cateau  Cam- 
bresis,  he  became  acquainted,  at  the  Court  of  Henry  H., 
with  his  and  Philip's  designs  against  Protestantism,  con- 
ceived a  deep  disgust  for  the  Spaniards,  and  resolved 
to  expel  them  from  the  Netherlands.  Despite  the  em- 
peror's recommendation  he  could  not  win  the  regard  or 
confidence  of  the  suspicious  Philip.  Convivial,  fond  of 
hunting  and  hawking,  an  adept  in  gallantry,  famous  for 
his  gastronomic  tastes,  entertaining  magnificently,  ca- 
pable of  being  wrought  up  out  of  his  reserve  into  rare 
eloquence,  he  appeared  to  be  indifferent  to  religion  or 
to  regard  it  as  a  politic  invention ;  loved  and  exercised 
a  benignant  tolerance  in  affairs  of  conscience,  and 
showed  his  German  parentage  by  upholding  freedom  of 
speculation  as  a  right  inalienable  of  the  human  race. 
Born  two  hundred  years  before  Washington,  William 
the  Silent  has  often  been  compared  with  the  great  re- 


"  Vivent  les  G-ueux^ 


475 


publican;  and  if  self-abnegation,  magnanimity,  and  suf- 
fering for  the  loftiest  of  earthly  causes  can  cast  a  trans- 
figuration over  human  character,  his  deserves  the 
double  glory  of  exalted  patriotism  and  martyrbom. 

In  1566,  two  hundred  of  the  confederates  entered 
Brussels,  and,  headed  by  Viscount  Brederode  and  Louis 
of  Nassau,  presented  a  petition  to  Margaret,  praying 
the  instant  abolition  of  the  inquisition  and  the  edicts. 
Margaret  regarding  with  alarm  the  numbers  and  mar- 
tial array  of  the  confederates,  as  they  presented  them- 
selves before  her  at  the  palace,  was  quieted  by  Count 
Barlaimont  who  told  her  "  they  were  nothing  but  a 
crowd  of  beggars."  From  this  arose  the  celebrated 
watch-word  of  *'  Vivent  les  Gueux "  (beggars)  which, 
soon  further  heightened  by  a  beggar's  wallet  and  a 
wooden  bowl,  became  the  symbol  of  the  uprisen,  Protes- 
tant Netherlands. 

Brought  to  bay  by  the  insurrectionary  movements  in 
the  north,  and  by  the  representations  of  Baron  de 
Montigny,  who  had  now  been  sent  by  the  regent  to  urge 
his  acquiescence  in  the  reforms  demanded  by  the  league, 
Philip  appeared  to  relent  and  to  make  concessions, 
made  pretence  of  abolishing  the  inquisition  in  favor  of 
the  inquisitorial  powers  vested  in  the  bishops,  and  de- 
clared a  pretended  general  pardon  to  whomsoever  the 
regent  wished,  the  already  condemned  excepted.  But 
the  whole  was  a  tissue  of  perfidy  on  his  part,  for  he  men- 
tally reserved  to  himself  the  right  to  revoke  whatever 
terms  had  been  made  with  the  reformers,  and  his  maxim 
with  regard  to  them  was,  "  No  faith  to  be  kept  with 
heretics." 

Don  Carlos,  contemptuously  referring  to  his  father'? 


476 


Spai7i  under  Philip  11. 


repeated  but  unfulfilled  promises  to  visit  the  Nether- 
lands m  person,  scribbled  on  his  blank-book  one  day 
The  Great  and  Admirable  Voyages  of  King  Philip  " 
and  wuhm  as  contents,  "From  Madrid  to  the  Par- 
do,  from  the  Pardo  to  the  Escorial,  from  the  Escorial  to 
Aranjuez,"  etc. 

The  same  year  the  beautifulcathedralof  Antwerp  was 
sacrilegiously  devastated  by  a  mob,  who,  dragging  the 
the  statue  of  Christ  to  the  ground  with  a  rope  about  its 
neck,  left  the  two  thieves  "as  if  to  preside  over  the 
work  of   rapine  below."     Iconoclastic  fury  seized  the 
rabble  in  various  provinces  :  four  hundred  churches  in 
Flanders  alone  furnished  fuel    to   this  band  of  saint- 
haters  and  unage-breakers,  and  that  in  less  than  a  fort- 
night.    Alarm  pervaded  Brussels :  Margaret  determined 
on  flight,  but  was  induced  to  relinquish  her  scheme  of 
departure.     Churches  were  conceded  for  the  reformed 
worship,  and  for  the  moment  tranquillity  seemed  re-estab- 
hshed.     Ph.Iip,  on  learning  of  the  disorders,  burst  into 
frantic  passion,  and  swore  by  the  soul  of  his  father  that 
they  should  cost  the  perpetrators  dear.     His  bitter  sus- 
picions instantly  fixed  upon  the  great  nobles  as  at  the 
bottom  of  the  troubles  in   Flanders,  particularly  upon 
Orange   Egmont,  and  Van  Hoorne.     Love  and  patriot- 
ism-his  wife  and  the  sufferings  of  his  fatheriand- 
had   now  made  William   of   Orange   a   Calvinist, '  and 
roused  from  indifference,  he  stood  forth  as  the  cham- 
pion of  the  Reformation,  ready  to  risk  all  in  the  strug- 

The  famous  test-oath  of  loyalty  brought  forward  by 
Margaret  to  try  the  obedience  of  the  knights  of  the  Gol 
den  Fleece,  the  great  nobles,  and  the  high  civil  and 


476 


Spain  under  Philip  IL 


I 

( 


repeated  but  unfulfilled  promises  to  visit  the   x\ether- 
lands  m  person,  scribbled  on   his  blank-book  one  day 
The  Great  and  Admirable  Voyages  of  King  Philip" 
and  withni   as   contents,   "From  Madrid  to   the   Par 
do,  from  the  Pardo  to  the  Escorial,  fro.n  the  Escorial  to 
Aranjuez,"  etc. 

The  same  year  the  beautiful  cathedral  of  Antwerp  was 
sacrilegiously  devastated  by  a  mob,  who,  dragging  the 
the  statue  of  Christ  to  the  ground  with  a  rope  about  its 
neck,  left  the  two  thieves  "as  if  to  preside  over  the 
work  of    rapine  below."     Iconoclastic  fury  seized   the 
rabble  in  various  provinces  :  four  hundred  churches  in 
Flanders  alone  furnished  fuel    to   this  band  of  saint- 
haters  and  image-breakers,  and  that  in  less  than  a  fort- 
night.    Alarm  pervaded  Brussels :  Margaret  determined 
on  flight,  but  was  induced  to  relinquish  her  scheme  of 
departure.     Churches  were  conceded  for  the  reformed 
vyorship,  and  for  the  moment  tranquillity  seemed  re-estab- 
lished.    Philip,  on  learning  of  the  disorders,  burst  into 
frantic  passion,  and  swore  by  the  soul  of  his  father  that 
they  should  cost  the  perpetrators  dear.     His  bitter  sus- 
picions instantly  fi.xed  upon  the  great  nobles  as  at  the 
bottom  of  the  troubles  in   Flanders,  particularly  upon 
Orange  tgmont,  and  Van  Hoorne.     Love  and  patriot- 
.sni- his  wife  and   the  sufferings  of  his  fatherland - 
had   now  made  William   of   Orange   a   Calvinist, '  and 
roused  from  indifference,  he  stood  forth  as  the  cham- 
pion of  the  Reformation,  ready  to  risk  all  in  the  strug- 

The  famous  test-oath  of  loyalty  brought  forward  by 
Margaret  to  try  the  obedience  of  the  knights  of  the  Gol 
den  Fleece,  the  great   nobles,  and  the  high  civil  and 


i|.f,i 


.1"' 


The  Dvkt  of  Alva, 


479 


military  officers,  to  the  crown,  drove  Orange  from  the 
Netherlands  to  Germany,  while  Counts  Hoorne,  Hoogs- 
traten,  and  Brederode,  also  refused  to  swear  to  it,  and 
retired  to  their  estates.  Egmont  subscribed.  A  tide  of 
emigration  again  set  in  which  threatened  to  empty  the 
country  into  the  lap  of  England,  France,  and  Germany. 

Urged  by  the  anguish  of  Pius  V.,  at  the  dissemination 
of  heresy  in  the  Low  Country,  Philip  the  Slow  at  length 
sent  the  Duke  of  Alva  in  1567  to  Brussels.  With  ten 
thousand  picked  men  he  made  his  admirable  march 
from  Genoa,  through  countries  of  every  shade  of  un- 
friendliness, to  the  Netherlands  without  accident,  op- 
position, or  trespass  of  any  kind.  He  arrived  in 
Brussels  August  22,  1567.  His  powers  were  practically 
unlimited,  while  to  Margaret,  as  a  recompense  for  all 
her  faithfulness,  anxiety,  and  labor,  w^as  still  left  for  a 
short  time  the  meaningless  title  of  "regent."  He  had 
supreme  control  in  civil  and  military  affairs  and  was  a 
king  in  all  but  the  name.  He  was  to  levy  war  on  the 
rebellious  people,  and  inquire  into  and  punish  the  origi- 
nators of  the  recent  troubles.  He  garrisoned  the  great 
towns,  erected  fortresses,  let  loose  his  licentious  sol- 
diery on  the  unprotected  population,  and  under  pretence 
of  holding  a  council  of  state,  summoned  Egmont  and 
Hoorne  to  Culemborg  House  in  Brussels,  where  they 
were  arrested  and  confined. 

*'  This  sword  has  done  the  king  service  more  than 
once,"  said  Egmont,  delivering  up  the.  weapon  rendered 
immortal  by  the  blood-stains  of  St.  Quentin  and  Grave- 
lines. 

Granvelle,  learning  that  the  duke  "had  not  drawn 
into  his  net  the  Silent  One,"  (William  the  Silent),  said, 
"  If  he  has  not  caught  him,  he  has  caught  nothing." 


480 


Spain  under  Philip  II. 


The  establishment  of  the  Council  of  Blood  was  but 
a  natural  sequence  of  these  enormities.  Its  twelve 
judges— mostly  men  of  ancient  and  honorable  family, 
with  the  exception  of  the  infamous  Del  Rio  and  the 
criminal  Juan  de  Vargas  — had  cognizance  of  all  civil 
and  criminal  cases  that  had  grown  out  of  the  late  dis- 
orders, and  superseded  the  great  court  of  Mechlin  and 
every  other  provincial  or  municipal  tribunal  in  the  coun- 
try. Its  establishment  was  a  burning  outrage  on  the 
constitutional  rights  of  the  nation. 

In  February,  1568,  a  royal  edict  literally  swept  the 
whole  nation  with  the  penalties  of  treason,  death,  and 
confiscation.  Innumerable  arrests,  trials,  and  execu- 
tions followed,  without  distinction  of  sex,  age,  or  char- 
acter, but  met  with  a  heroism  as  pathetic  as  it  was  in- 
domitable. 

Worn  out  with  signing  death-warrants,  it  is  said  that 
Vargas  would  fall  asleep  in  his  chair,  and,  being  sud- 
denly roused,  would  exclaim,  half-awake,  "  To  the  gal- 
lows! to  the  gallows!" 

Confiscation  and  perpetual  banishment  were  promul- 
gated against  the  Orange  princes.  Though  powerful 
efforts  were  made  to  save  the  unfortunate  Egmont  and 
Hoorne,  they  were  in  vain.  They  were  charged  with 
sedition,  encouragement  of  sectaries,  and  treason,  ex- 
amined, and  sentenced  to  death. 

This  blood  bore  rich  fruit  to  the  cause  of  reform. 

It  is  now  time  to  glance  at  events  in  the  South. 

The  defence  of  Malta  in  1565  under  La  Valette 
against  Solyman  II.,  is  a  bright  spot  in  the  annals  of 
this  reign  —  a  siege  which  gave  a  tremendous  shock  to 


^ 


Events  in  the  South, 


481 


the  Moslem  power  in  the  Mediterranean,  cost  Solyman 
more    than    thirty   thousands   men,    and   brought    the 
Knights  Hospitallers  of  St.  John,  who  conducted  the 
defence,   to  the  highest  point  of   glory.     Charles  V., 
after  their  expulsion  from  Rhodes  by  the  Turks,  had 
ceded  Malta  to  this  noble  military  order  on  payment  of 
a  falcon  annually,  in  token  of  his  feudal  supremacy; 
they  had  become  immensely  wealthy,  had  elaborated  a 
far-reaching  scheme  for  the  government  of  the  order, 
had  developed  a  navy  which  swept  the  Turkish  seas ; 
eventually  they  had  roused  the  vengeance  of  Solyman. 
After  a  fierce  siege  the  Turks  were  overpowered  ;  Dro- 
gut,   one  of    their  commanders,  was  killed ;    and   the 
white  flag  of  St.  John  floated  once  more  triumphantly 
over  the  crags  and  promontories  of  Malta,  —  "  City  of 
Refuge." 

Its  capital,  Valetta,  commemorates  the  reverence  and 
admiration  in  which  their  great  commander  was  held 
by   the   knights,    and    its    cathedral    holds   his    ashes. 
Malta  lies  like  a  jewel  cast  upon  these  sparkling  Medi- 
terranean seas ;  and  the  desire  of  the  eyes  no  less  than 
vengeance  may  have  made  the  Turks  flock  in  tens  of 
thousands  about  its  cliffs  in  this  memorable  undertak- 
ing.    What  a  picture  !  the  sheer  morning  seas  infinitely 
blue  and  still ;  the  rock  itself  bristling  with  unfinished 
fortification,  ravelin  and  counterscarp ;  the  sturdy  little 
community  of  knights,  battling  for  God   and  soul's  sal- 
vation ;  Mustapha  with  his  myriads  howling  about  the 
impregnable  haven,  and  the  sea  white  with  the  innumer- 
able moons  of  Islam.     Then  flash  of  cannonade,  thun- 
der of  artillery,  tumultuous  onslaught,  and  the  mighty 
tragedy  has  begun. 


482 


Spain  under  Philip  IL 


The  Netherlands  and  Malta  were  not  the  only  spots 
illumined  by  dismal  or  heroic  tragedy  at  this  time.  In 
Spain,  in  Philip's  own  family,  within  the  sumptuous 
boudoirs  of  the  palace  itself,  almost  in  the  very  bed- 
chamber of  the  king,  had  been  slowly  gathering  the 
clouds  of  a  mysterious  crime  as  yet  unfathomed  by  his- 
torian or  chronicler.  This  was  the  conspiracy,  confine- 
ment and  death  of  Dor.  Carlos,  at  this  time  Philip's 
only  son. 

Don    Carlos  was   now  but  twenty-three — wayward, 
dissipated,  discontented ;  and    the  eccentricity  of   his 
conduct  —  carefully  educated  in  all  manly  and  intellect- 
ual exercises  as  he  had  been  —  can  only  be  accounted 
for  on  the  ground  of  hereditary  insanity.     A  fearless, 
generous,  sarcastic  disposition,  he  was  fierce,  cruel,  and 
diseased,  both  in  mind  and  body.     Upon  such  a  char- 
acter the  spectacle  of  his  father  carrying  off  the  beauti- 
ful Isabella  of  France,  who  had  been  intended  for  him, 
is  supposed  to  have  produced  a  profound  impression. 
Brought  up  with  his  uncle,  Don  Juan  of  Austria,  and 
his   cousin,   Alexander  Farnese,    son   of   Margaret   of 
Parma,  both  afterward  to  be  so  celebrated  in  their  con- 
nection with  the  Netherlands,  he  imbibed  all  the  lawless 
habits  of  the  time,  carrying  pistols,  assaulting  people 
on  the  street  with  swords,  insulting  women,  and  acting 
with  the  utmost  violence  towards  his  tutor,  his  chamber- 
lain, and  Cardinal  Espinosa,  threatening  to  poniard  the 
latter  for  banishing  a  player  from  the  palace.     Such 
reckless  defiance  of  decency  brought  upon  him  the  deep 
displeasure  of  his  father.     He  was  distrusted,  excluded 
from  military  and  political  offices,  surrounded  by  spies, 
and  tormented  in  the  petty  and  ignominious  ways  which 


m-i 


("V/ 


I 


/  will  hill  You,"*' 


485 


Philip  knew  so  well  how  to  practice.     Drawing  his  dag- 
ger on  the  Duke  of  Alva  previous  to  his  departure  for 
Flanders,   Carlos,   who   had   regarded    himself   as   the 
proper  person  to  be  entrusted  with  the  mission,  fiercely 
exclaimed,   "  You  shall   not  go ;  if  you  do,  I  will   kill 
you."     Hemmed  in  on  all  sides,  the  wretched  prince  of 
the  Asturias  conceived  the  idea  of  flight  to  a  foreign 
land.     Before  attempting  to  put  his  plan  into  execution, 
and  dogged  as  by  some  insane  hallucination,  he  kept 
repeating  before  his  gentleman  of  the  bed-chamber  that 
**he  desired  to  kill  a  man  with  whom  he  had  a  quarrel." 
He    made    the   same    avowal    to   his  confessor  at  the 
Christmas  anniversary  of  1567  ;  whereupon  he  was  re- 
fused absolution.     Being  entreated  to  tell  who  the  per- 
son was,  he  said  "his  father  was  the  person,  and  he 
wished  to  have  his  life." 

Carlos,  who  habitually  slept  with  a  sword,  dagger,  and 
loaded  musket  within  reach,  was  surprised  in  sleep  and 
imprisoned  in  his  apartment.  He  threatened  to  kill 
himself,  declared  that  he  was  not  mad,  and  that  the 
king's  treatment  of  him  was  driving  him  to  despair. 
"  The  king's  dagger  followed  close  on  his  smile,"  said 
Cabrera. 

A  long  process  was  begun;  perpetual  imprison- 
ment was  determined  upon;  and  though  pretending 
anguish  at  the  conduct  of  his  son,  Philip  subjected 
him  to  the  most  rigorous  incarceration.  To  his  design 
on  his  father's  life  was  now  added  the  suspicion  that 
Carios  was  either  a  Lutheran  or  an  infidel.  Philip 
even  neglected  the  magnificent  pile  of  the  Escorial, 
now  rising  in  all  its  commemorative  glory  of  granite 
on  a  spur  of  the  Guadarramas,  to  keep  intense  watch 


486 


Spain  under  Philip  IL 


over  the  sullen  and  frenzied  prisoner  of  the  palace. 
Tortured  by  mental  excitement  and  physical  debility, 
Don  Carlos  indulged  in  the  wildest  excesses,  alter- 
nately freezing,  starving,  and  then  gorging  himself; 
vomiting,  dysentery  set  in  ;  his  strength  swiftly  passed 
away,  till  on  the  Vigil  of  St.  James,  in  1568,  after  con- 
fessing, and  adoring  the  crucifix  grasped  in  his  poor, 
trembling,  diseased  hands,  he  fell  back  and  expired 
without  a  groan. 

Philip  the  same  night  had  stolen  in  on  tip-toe,  like  a 
conscience-stricken  spectre,  and  made  over  his  dying 
son  the  shadowy  benediction  of  the  cross.  But  Isa- 
bella, whom  Carlos  loved  and  revered,  had  been  kept 
away. 

The  belief  was  rife  that  the  prince  had  been  con- 
demned to  death  by  casuists  and  inquisitors,  and  that 
his  sentence  was  slow  poisoning,  lasting  four  months. 
Philip  was  proclaimed  by  William  of  Orange  the  mur- 
derer of  his  son,  as  he  afterwards  became  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange  ;  and  it  was  remembered  of  Philip  that  he  had 
said  to  a  heretic,  ''  Were  my  son  such  a  wretch  as  thou 
art,  I  would  myself  carry  the  fagots  to  burn  him." 
Responsibility  if  not  guilt  rested  upon  the  unhappy 
father,  and  we  may  agree  with  the  historian  that  if  he 
did  not  directly  employ  the  hand  of  the  assassin  to 
take  the  life  of  his  son,  yet  by  his  rigorous  treatment  he 
drove  him  to  such  desperation  that  it  ended  in  death. 

Thus  this  poor  young  life  was  wasted  away  by  prema- 
ture disease,  exasperation,  and  excess.  Its  brilliant 
dawn  ;  its  heirship  to  the  noblest  throne  in  Christendom  ; 
its  boundless  gifts  of  ancestry,  inheritance,  and  fortune, 
were  as  nothing  before  its  own  passions  and  the  rigor 
of  an  inexorable  father. 


A  Moorish  Invasion, 


487 


Isabella  of  France,  after  a  brief  reign  of  eight  years 
as  Philip's  wife,  died  at  twenty-three,  the  same  year  as 
Don  Carlos.  "  She  passed  away,"  says  old  Brantome, 
"  in  the  sweet  and  pleasant  April  of  her  age,  when  her 
beauty  was  such  that  it  seemed  as  if  it  might  almost 
defy  the  assaults  of  time." 

And  in  less  than  eighteen  months  the  inconsolable 
widower  had  married  his  fourth  wife  —  this  time  Anne 
of  Austria.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Maximilian  of 
Germany,  and  his  own  niece. 

As  for  the  so-called  amours  of  Carlos  and  Isabella, 
there  seems  as  yet  no  historical  foundation  for  them. 
They  loved  each  other  as  step-mother  and  step-son 
should,  and  as  a  step-son,  tormented  and  treated  as 
Don  Carlos  was,  would  naturally  love  a  beautiful, 
kindly-tempered  woman,  who  had  interested  herself  in 
his  fate.  There  is  no  trace  of  criminal  passion  to  fleck 
this  story  of  a  noble  and  pathetic  relationship. 

Between  1566  and  1572  Spain  was  again  agitated  by 
a  Moorish  rebellion.  Under  Charles,  the  Moors,  though 
subject  to  the  constant  terror  of  the  Inquisition,  lived 
in  comparative  ease  and  quietude,  contributing  and  con- 
forming, outwardly  at  least,  to  the  established  faith. 
They  rapidly  multiplied ;  their  hamlets  and  farms  cov- 
ered the  Sierras ;  among  the  mountains  they  preserved 
their  wild  and  independent  spirit,  and  in  the  plains  and 
vegas,  their  ingenuity  and  patient  toil  had  converted 
the  country  into  a  paradise.  Granada  had  been  special- 
ly favored  in  the  treaty  with  the  Moors,  and  its  lovely 
environs  showed  an  almost  boundless  fertility  under  the 
culture  of  the  inhabitants. 

But  Philip  fretted  that  these  infidels  did  not  renounce 


! 


li 


488 


Spain  under  Philip  II. 


their  immemorial  religion  and  usages  wholesale,  abjure 
their  ancient  memories,  and  come  at  once  within  the  pale 
of  the  Catholic  church.  The  unfortunate  Moriscoes, 
however,  escaped  legislation  for  some  years  after  Philip's 
accession,  and  it  was  not  till  1560  and  1563  that  laws 
were  published  interdicting  them  the  use  of  African 
slaves  and  prohibiting  them  from  possessing  unlicensed 
arms  ;  both  of  which  were  impolitic  edicts  and  exasper- 
ated this  already  long-suffering  people.  Soon  Guerrero, 
archbishop  of  Granada,  drew  the  attention  of  the  govern- 
ment to  the  manifold  backslidings  of  the  New  Chris- 
tians, —  as  the  converted  Moors  were  called,  —  their 
washing  off  the  traces  of  baptism  from  their  newly- 
sprinkled  children,  their  practice  of  circumcision,  their 
solemnization  of  marriage  with  their  own  national  sports 
and  dances,  and  their  alleged  kidnapping  and  circum- 
cising of  Christian  children.  Hence  a  law  unparalleled 
for  cruelty  was  drawn  up,  and  signed  by  Philip  in  1566, 
outraging  the  most  sacred  feelings  of  the  Moors,  tearing 
asunder  the  strongest  ties  of  kindred  and  countr}',  vio- 
lating private  life  in  the  profanest  manner,  and  evoking 
agonies  of  grief  from  the  outraged  nationality. 

This  law  interdicted  them  the  employment  of  Arabic 
either  in  speaking  or  writing,  compelled  them  to  change 
Arabic  for  Spanish  family  names,  declared  void  all  legal 
instruments  not  written  in  Castilian,  allowed  three  years 
for  the  entire  nation  to  learn  an  absolutely  different 
speech,  wholly  irreconcilable  with  their  own,  and  re- 
quired the  substitution  of  Spanish  costumes  for  their 
own  graceful  and  flowing  Oriental  dress.  The  veils  —  a 
necessity  to  the  pure  Mahometan  —  were  torn  from  the 
faces   of    the   women.      Their   weddings   were   to   be 


^^^^^ 


A\  AGICD    AI£NDICAW1    aWD    UIS    GRANDCHILD 


M 


Legal  Cruelty. 


491 


Christianized  and  solemnized  in  public.  It  was  penal 
to  wear  silk.  Their  national  songs  and  dances  were 
made  crimes.  And  it  became  a  heinous  offence  to  in- 
dulge in  warm  baths.  The  most  frightful  penalties  — 
confiscation,  the  galleys,  hundreds  of  lashes,  —  enforced 
this  edict. 

The  publication  of  the  act  in  the  great  square  of 
Granada,  in  1567,  —  still  to-day  carpeted  with  poetic 
memories  of  the  Arabians,  and  penetrated  by  long  lines 
of  noble  limes,  —  called  forth  such  shame,  sorrow,  and 
hatred,  as  have  rung  on  piteously  even  down  into  our 
time.  Remonstrances,  supplications,  menaces,  were  in 
vain.  Philip  was  like  a  rock,  and  quailed  not  at  the 
spectacle  of  an  agonized  people  lying  heart-broken  at 
his  feet.  The  edict  was  mercilessly  proclaimed  in  every 
part  of  the  kingdom  of  Granada. 

At  once  the  Moors  sprang  to  arms,  under  Aben  Hu- 
meya,  a  descendant  of  the  Omaiyades. 

But  for  a  moment  our  attention  is  arrested  at  this 
point  by  a  knightly  and  courteous  figure,  withdrawing 
us  from  the  enormities  of  the  war,  and  concentrating 
our  gaze  upon  its  own  fresh  youth,  gayety,  and  brilliancy. 

Don  Juan  of  Austria  (born  about  1545),  —  Philip's 
bastard  brother,  said  to  be  the  son  of  Charles  V.  and 
a  beautiful  young  German  girl  of  Ratisbon,  —  came  to 
take  charge  of  the  war.  A  perfect  chevalier  in  all 
noble  exercises,  of  singular  beauty  and  nobility  of 
countenance,  generous,  fiery,  and  full  of  heroic  aspira- 
tion, Don  Juan  rose  as  by  enchantment  from  an  ob- 
scure and  ambiguous  position  as  Luis  Quixada's  ward 
to  that  of  an  illustrious  prince,  acknowledged  in  1559 
by  Philip  as  his  brother.     He  comes  before  us,  out  of 


ir-f: 


492 


Spain  under  Philip  11. 


the  mists  of  this  dark  reign,  like  a  dazzling  personifica- 
tion of  the  last  dying  spirit  of  chivalry,  — an  echo  from 
the  romantic  land  of  the  Gerusalemme  Liberata, —  a  prince 
and  paladin  of  legendary  story,  full  of  tenderness  for  his 
adopted  mother  Dona  Magdalena  Quixada,  romantically 
popular  among  the  people  who  idolized  him,  discreet 
yet  impetuous,  revealing  in  his  sunny  hair,  frank  blue 
eyes,  and  fair  complexion,  traces  of  his  German  blood, 
and  altogether  the  most  gorgeous  and  winning  person- 
ality on  the  stage  of  Spanish  affairs  since  the  times  of 
the  great  Gonsalvo. 

In  1569,  he  entered  the  gates  of  Granada,  surrounded 
by  a  throng  of  supplicating  humanity  —  black-stoled 
Moorish  women,  with  tears  streaming  from  their  eyes,  who 
besought  protection  for  their  wretched  relatives.  The 
splendid  pageant  passed  on  like  a  gleam  of  sunlight 
amid  this  dark-shrouded  multitude,  and  help  for  a  mo- 
ment seemed  to  lie  in  the  grace  and  sympathy  of  the 
brilliant  commander-in-chief. 

But  these  hopes  were  of  brief  duration.  A  stern  de- 
cree came  removing  the  Moriscoes  from  their  beloved 
Granada,  city  of  delights,  of  palaces,  of  fountains,  and 
myrtle-gardens.  Consternation,  grief,  expulsion,  eter- 
nal farewell  to  their  ancient  city  so  tenderly  intertwined 
with  sweet  and  holy  recollections,  distribution  of  their 
children  throughout  Spain,  ruin  to  Granada,  — a  single 
swift  decree,  like  a  flash  from  Dante's  Hell,  condensed 
and  concentrated  the  miseries  of  this  dismal  picture. 

In  brief  space  the  rebellion  was  crushed,  Aben-Aboo, 
"  the  little  king  of  the  Alpujarras,"  who  had  succeeded 
Aben  Humeya,  was  treacherously  murdered  in  157 1  by 
one  of  his  officers.    His  body  was  brought  to  Granada  - 


A  Savage  Edict, 


493 


and  his  head  put  in  a  cage ;  and  the  war  sank  in  a  mist 
of  blood,  execution,  and  exile.  Don  Juan  had  by  his 
own  request  been  relieved  of  the  command  in  1570. 

The  fitting  close  to  this  episode  was  one  of  those  sav- 
age edicts  which  were  the  only  mode  of  literary  com- 
position in  which  Philip  excelled.  The  Moriscoes  were 
all  expelled  from  the  kingdom  of  Granada  ;  the  country 
was  districted  and  placed  under  scrupulous  military 
superintendence,  and  the  people  were  thrust  into  chilling 
exile  among  the  distant  provinces  of  the  peninsula. 

As  they  had  lisped  in  Arabic,  so  now  they  learned  to 
sing  in  Spanish.  As  they  had  danced  the  voluptuous 
Andalusian  dances,  so  now  their  feet  learned  the  intri- 
cate measures  of  the  fandango  and  the  bolero.  Lan- 
guageless,  countryless,  barbarously  bereft  of  national 
existence,  denuded  even  of  their  immemorial  costume, 
they  clothed  their  nakedness  in  Spanish  jackets,  learned 
the  suave  melodies  of  the  Castilian,  and,  impelled  by 
necessity  to  profound  dissimulation,  slipped  readily  into 
the  embrace  of  another  faith  and  another  fatherland. 
But  a  hate  blacker  than  night  and  deeper  than  hell 
slumbered  beneath  the  ripple  of  their  exiled  laughter ; 
and  though  they  might  dance,  and  sing,  and  jest  in 
Spanish,  in  their  heart  of  hearts  they  were  more  fiercely 
Arabic  than  ever. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 
PHILIP'S   CHARACTER  AND   POLICY. 

IT  was  a  national  characteristic  of  the  Spaniard  to 
be  perpetually  engaged  in  a  crusade.  All  his  wars 
were  religious  wars,  whether  he  scoured  the  infidel 
Levant,  campaigned  against  the  Moors,  or  grappled 
with  the  heretic  Netherlanders.  William  of  Orange 
and  Selim  II.,  were  equally  enemies  of  the  faith,  and 
both  were  treated  by  the  bigot  of  the  Escorial  with 
equally  intense  hatred.  Philip  had  more  tolerance  for 
outright  infidelity  than  for  lapsed  Catholicism.  It  was 
his  fate,  or  rather  his  glory  to  be  perpetually  harassed 
by  the  Turks.  Malta  had  become  a  spot  of  renown 
in  his  struggle  with  Solyman  the  Magnificent  (1566); 
and  now  the  Adriatic,  sprinkled  with  innumerable  is- 
lands as  with  fragments  of  a  disrupted  continent,  was 
to  shed  even  greater  lustre  on  Spanish  annals. 

Selim  II.,  resolving  on  the  acquisition  of  Cyprus,  at- 
tempted to  snatch  this  precious  gem  from  the  crown  of 
Venice.  Venice  appealed  to  Pius  V.,  who  in  his  turn 
pleaded  the  cause  of  the  forlorn  republic  in  an  ear  that 
never  turned  away  from  such  an  appeal.  Philip,  the 
great  champion  of  the  faith,  listened  with  benignity  to 
the  proposition  of  the  league  to  be  formed  against  the 

494 


i'r. 


j 


1 


i, 


1 

i 


The  Holy  League. 


497 


Eastern  despot,  and  being  in  especially  good  humor,  it 
would  seem,  by  his  recent  marriage  with  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria, dismissed  the  papal  legate  with  assurances  of  im- 
mediate succor  to  Venice. 

The  Holy  League  was  ratified  in  157 1  between  the 
pope  and  the  ambassadors  of  Spain  and  Venice.  Fifty 
thousand  foot,  four  thousand  five  hundred  horse,  two 
hundred  galleys,  and  one  hundred  transports,  with  ar- 
tillery and  munitions,  were  the  forces  pledged  by  the 
allied  powers. 

Naples,  Sicily,  the  Balearic  Isles,  and  the  seaports  of 
the  Peninsula,  soon  rang  with  the  hammers  of  the  swarm- 
ing artisans  making  preparations  for  the  splendid  naval 
armament.  The  Castilian  sensibilities  kindled  into  a 
fire,  and  lords  and  cavaliers  thronged  about  the  chival- 
rous presence  of  Don  Juan,  the  captain-general.  With 
a  magnificent  retinue  he  passed  over  to  Italy  and 
dropped  anchor  in  the  bay  of  Naples.  To  the  Italians 
he  seemed  like  a  young  demi-god  of  twenty-four,  with 
his  snow-white  plumes,  golden  curls,  dress  of  white  vel- 
vet and  cloth  of  gold,  and  dauntless  bearing ;  and  his 
dancing,  fencing,  tennis-playing,  his  open  physiognomy 
and  courteous  manners,  intoxicated  the  volatile  Neapoli- 
tans, and  made  them  dream  of  some  antique  mirror  of 
chivalry.  He  was  presented  with  the  consecrated  stan- 
dard, sailed  over  the  glancing  Sicilian  waters  to  Messina, 
and  was  welcomed  with  cannon-thunder,  fire-works,  and 
multitudinous  acclaim.  The  allied  fleet  was  a  floating 
city  of  eighty  thousand  men,  twenty-nine  thousand  of 
whom  were  soldiers,  nineteen  thousand  being  the  Span- 
ish quota.  They  all  to  a  man  fasted  three  days,  con- 
fessed, communed,  were  absolved  from  their  sins,  and 


498 


Spain  under  Philip  IL 


indulged  by  the  pope  as  if  they  were  crusading  for  the 
deHverance  of  Jerusalem ;  and  thus  equipped,  they  set 
forth  from  Messina,  coasted  Calabria,  and  steered  for 
Corfu,  where  they  learned  that  the  Ottoman  fleet,  after 
rava^in^^  the  Venetian  territories,  lay  with  a  powerful 
armament  in  the  Gulf  of  Lepanto. 

There  were  many  memorable  persons  present  in  this 
famous  battle— Don  Juan,  Veniero  (the  Venetian  cap- 
tain-general), Colonna  (the  papal  captain-general),  the 
Grand  Commander  Requesens,  and  Alexander  Farnese, 


Cervantes. 

both  of  whom  attained  such  sad  celebrity  in  the  Neth- 
erland  wars;  Cardona,  general  of  the  Sicilian  fleet, 
Andria  Doria,  and  last  but  not  least,  Cervantes,  the  im- 
mortal author  of  Don  Quixote,  serving  as  a  common 

soldier. 

It  was  resolved  to  give  immediate  battle. 

Certainly  no  more    striking   and   beautiful    spot,  no 
spot  more  sprinkled  with  undying  souvenirs,   no  spot 


A  Striking  Spot, 


499 


more  dazzlingly  becircled  with  blue  seas,  amethystine 
peaks,  and  islets  magically  scattered  on  pellucid  water, 
could  have  been  chosen  for  the  greatest  naval  battle  of 
modern  times.  It  was  ground,  all  of  which  had  been 
immortalized  by  ancient  poet,  philosopher,  or  politician. 
Actium  was  near ;  Ithaca  was  near ;  Corfu,  where  the 
first  naval  battle  recorded  in  history  took  place,  was 
Don  Juan's  first  stopping-place  ;  Leucadia,  the  Isle  of 
Sappho;  Paxo,  famous  for  the  legend  of  Pan  which 
Milton  and  Mrs.  Browning  have  embalmed ;  the  ancient 
Scheria  of  Homer,  where  Odysseus  was  cast  away  and 
rescued  by  Nausikaa  ;  fields  which  had  felt  the  foot- 
steps of  TibuUus;  temples  of  Jupiter  before  which 
Nero  had  danced;  convents  where  crusaders  stopped 
on  their  pilgrimages  to  the  Holy  Land;  estates  once 
owned  by  Cicero,  and  spots  where  Cicero  himself  had 
meditated  ;  the  gardens  of  Alkinous  ;  cliffs  rising  thou- 
sands of  feet  in  the  crystalline  atmosphere ;  crags  con- 
secrated by  the  musings  of  Nicostratos,  Deucalion,  Ar- 
temisia ;  islands  memorable  for  the  marriage  of  Antony 
and  Octavia,  for  the  landing  of  St.  Helena  going  to 
Palestine  to  look  for  the  true  cross,  for  the  temporary 
abode  of  Augustus,  of  Diocletian,  of  Cato,  and  the 
blind  Belisarius ;  islands  all  tasselled  with  early  Athen- 
ian and  Peloponnesian  memories  ;  Olympian  Elis  down 
the  coast,  and  pregnant  and  eloquent  suggestiveness  in 
everything  on  which  the  eye  fell  ;  surely  an  unrivalled 
spot  for  so  transcendent  a  passage-at-arms. 

The  Sabbath-like  stillness  of  an  exquisite  October 
morning,  —  more  exquisite,  perhaps,  in  these  opalescent 
Ionian  seas  than  any  where  else  in  the  world  —  was 
soon  rent  by  the  passionate  thunders  of  Ali  Pasha's 


500 


Spain  under  Philip  IL 


and  Don  Juan's  mighty  fleets.  In  four  hours  the  Mos- 
lems were  ahnost  annihilated.  Ruin  met  the  blazing 
and  sinking  galleys  of  Algiers  and  Constantinople. 
Forty  out  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  galleys  escaped, 
while  one  hundred  and  thirty  were  captured.  The  all- 
engulfing  seas  swallowed  the  rest.  Ali  Pasha  was 
slain ;  twenty-five  thousand  Turks  were  killed :  five 
thousand  were  taken  prisoner ;  twelve  thousand  Chris- 
tian slaves,  chained  to  the  oar,  liberated  ;  gold,  jewels, 
brocade,    ore    hundred    and    seventy   thousand    gold 


The  Battle  of   Lepanto. 

sequins,  and  multitudes  of  valuable  articles,  formed 
part  of  the  booty.  Cervantes  lost  the  use  of  his  left 
hand  from  a  wound  received  in  this  battle.  The  allies 
lost  eight  thousand  men. 

Ottoman  decline  dates  from  this  defeat. 

In  1574,  Don  Juan  with  twenty  thousand  men,  took 
Tunis,  together  with  prodigious  booty,  which  was  soon 
retaken  by  the  Moslems. 


Domestic  Administration. 


501 


Thus  passed  away  the  vision  of  African  sovereignty, 
—  of  a  kingdom  to  the  south  of  the  Mediterranean,  — 
which  had  flickered  restlessly,  "a  sightless  substance," 
before  the  mind  of  the  ambitious  young  prince.  Other 
visions  began  to  flicker  ere  long  before  the  same  rest- 
less imagination  —  union  with  Elizabeth,  chivalrous 
maintenance  of  the  cause  of  Mary  of  Scotland,  mar- 
riage with  the  Scotch  queen  —  all  possible  and  impos- 
sible ambitions  haunted  the  yellow-haired  son  of  impe- 
rial Charles.  And  while  he  dreamed  of  Elizabeth  as  a 
wife,  Philip  ended  by  trying  to  poison  her. 

Meanwhile,  the  domestic  administration  of  Spain 
under  Philip  must  be  briefly  sketched,  and  its  salient 
points  noted  before  returning  to  the  Eighty  Years'  War 
of  the  Netherlands,  —  a  war  which  did  not  absolutely 
become  a  struggle  for  national  independence  until  it 
had  continued  for  twenty-five  years,  and  which  did  not 
end  till  the  peace  of  Westphalia  in  1648.  For  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  Netherlanders  were  resisting 
unjust  taxation,  usurpations  of  the  rights  of  their  own 
constitutional  assemblies,  and,  above  all,  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Inquisition  ;  nor  had  they  an  idea  at  first 
of  severing  their  connection  with  the  Spanish  crown. 

But  the  edict  of  1568,  dooming  to  death  three  millions 
of  people,  followed  by  the  butchery  of  eighteen  thou- 
sand during  Alva's  administration  alone,  was  gradually 
bringing  these  rugged,  hirsute,  tolerance-loving  Dutch- 
men to  the  belief  that  they  could  not  possibly  live  with 
Philip  on  any  terms  ■ — a  belief  which  ripened  into  vir- 
tual independence  in  1581  and  was  forever  signed  and 
sealed  by  the  martyr-blood  of  William  of  Orange,  in 
1584. 


502 


Spain  under  Philip  lf» 


The  despotism  built  upon  the  ruins  of  constitutional 
liberty  by  the  Emperor  Charles,  and  transmitted  by 
him  to  Philip,  found  an  able  perpetuator  in  that  mon- 
arch. Philip's  Spanish  birth  enabled  him  to  get  a  more 
subtle  control  over  his  people  than  his  father  had  had, 
to  aggrandize  himself  at  the  expense  of  his  subjects,  to 
gain  such  ascendency  that  everything  he  said  and  did 
was  regarded  with  reverence.  He  dreaded  the  calling 
in  of  cortes  for  any  important  step ;  hence  he  extended 
the  three  councils  of  state,  left  him  by  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  and  by  Charles,  to  sixteen,  composed  mainly  of 
eminent  ecclesiastics  and  jurists,  a  plan  which  enabled 
him,  in  large  measure,  to  dispense  with  the  constitu- 
tional legislative  body. 

Indefatigable  scribe  that  he  was,  Philip  delighted  in 
long-written  reports  sent  in  by  these  councils,  to  which 
he  added  endless  commentaries  in  his  own  hand-writing. 
Mountains  of  autograph  —  the  production  of  himself 
and  his  unhappy  secretaries  —  remain  to  attest  his  mar- 
vellous industry.  Despatch-writing  was  his  bread  of 
life,  varied  occasionally  by  gunning  or  cross-bow  shoot- 
ing in  his  palace-grounds.  Travel  he  detested,  and 
there  were  many  parts  of  his  own  peninsular  dominions 
which  his  gout,  his  emaciated  frame,  or  his  constitu- 
tional sluggishness  never  permitted  him  to  visit.  He 
became  almost  as  difficult  of  access  as  a  Japanese 
Mikado,  wrapped  up  in  the  recesses  of  his  huge  palace- 
monastery  of  the  Escorial,  moving  about  in  close  car- 
riages, after  dark,  or  in  the  woods.  His  acquired 
knowledge  of  Spain  —  by  actual  observation  he  knew 
little  —  was  immense  and  exact,  and  was  gathered  from 
maps,  surveys,  and  statistics  compiled  for  him ;  while 


Philip^ s  Private  Life, 


503 


countless  spies,  flitting  about  continental  and  insular 
courts,  kept  him  curiously  informed  of  everything  that 
was  going  on  in  distant  countries.  He  seems  to  have 
lived  in  almost  absolute  isolation,  and  to  have  trusted 
nobody,  for  he  kept  spies  on  his  spies,  and  writhed  in 
everlasting  and  uneasy  suspicion  of  his  most  confidential 
advisors.  No  martyr  could  excel  him  in  a  sort  of  patience 
which  approached  as  nearly  to  a  virtue  as  any  quality 
he  possessed.  The  splendor  of  his  early  munificence 
soon  narrowed  into  a  pinching  economy,  called  for  by 
his  many  schemes,  for  which  sixteen  millions  of  annual 
revenue  were  insufficient.  The  man  himself  always 
comes  before  us  clad  in  black  velvet  or  satin,  — black 
velvet  shoes,  plumed  Spanish  cap,  — lighted  up  now  and 
then  about  the  neck  with  the  gorgeous  circlet  of  the 
Golden  Fleece. 

The  most  mischievous  of  his  qualities  as  an  adminis- 
trator was  his  procrastination,  — a  vice  which  heaped 
up  business  and  involved  him  in  those  myriads  of  de- 
tails, ever}^  one  of  which  he  desired  to  arrange  himself ; 
thus  accomplishing  but  little  in  months. 

The  wealthy  aristocracy  —  the  wealthiest  in  Europe, 
perhaps  —  imitated  Philip's  lavish  expenditure  in  the 
beginning,  and  revelled  in  equipages,  liveries,  retainers, 
banquetings,  dice-playing,  and  frivolous  amusements. 
Their  ancestral  castles  were  filled  with  serving  hidalgos 
and  cavaliers,  body-guards,  elegant  plate,  sumptuous 
chattels,  kneeling  vassals,  and  regal  pomp.  And  though 
they  might  be  viceroys  of  Naples,  Sicily,  or  Milan,  and 
captains-general  of  the  Netherlands,  Philip  studiously 
kept  them  apart  at  home  and  turned  them  into  a  body 


F-Ss*s:a(i  aii.  ■■eatSfet«{SSA»a^ 


604 


Spain  under  Philip  IL 


of  country  gentlemen,  without  political  power,  living  idly 
on  their  estates. 

The  Castilian  commons  had  been  equally  plucked 
of  their  feathers,  and  they  cringed  in  the  dust,  an  abject 
spectre  of  what  they  had  been  in  the  proud  days  of  the 
Catholic  sovereigns.  They  might  remonstrate  against 
the  enormous  expenses  of  the  king's  household,  against 
the  Burgundian  ceremonial,  against  the  alienation  of 
crown  lands,  against  taxes  unsanctioned  by  the  ancient 
laws  of  the  cortes,  against  the  king's  neglect  of  the 
codification  of  the  Castilian  laws,  against  the  tyranny 
of  the  crown  in  seizing  for  its  own  use  all  the  bullion 
privately  imported  by  the  Seville  merchants  from  the 
New  World.  Philip  replied  serenely  and  with  a  sweet- 
ness of  temper  that  left  nothing  to  be  desired. 

The  love  of  costly  and  ostentatious  dress  was  sought 
to  be  checked  by  sumptuary  laws.  The  cortes  tried  to 
keep  all  the  gold  and  silver  in  the  country  by  repressive 
measures;  for  lack  of  graver  things,  meddled  with 
table  expenses,  courses  of  viands,  the  scandalous  in- 
crease of  coaches;  and  stimulated  bull-baiting  by 
advising  the  erection  of  new  amphitheatres,  breeding 
better  horses,  and  the  like.  Minute  impertinences  like 
these  —  brought  forward  by  a  body  but  a  shadow  of 
its  former  venerable  self,  and  destitute  of  all  real 
power  —  were  occasionally  varied  by  consolatory  rec- 
ommendations of  one  sort  and  another,  —  appointment 
of  guardians  for  destitute  young  persons,  sanitary  recom- 
mendations, accommodations  of  travellers  at  inns,  be- 
havior of  servants,  stigmatizing  of  romances  of  chiv- 
alry, and  educational  schemes. 

Education  at  home  was  made  fashionable  by  Philip 


tii- 


The  Eseorial, 


507 


}  # 


—  a  fashion  still  further  popularized  by  threats  of  for- 
feiture of  estates,  banishment,  and  confiscation  in  case 
of  disobedience.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  reject  peti- 
tions peremptorily  when  it  suited  his  purposes  ;  and  as 
for  co-operation  between  him  and  the  cortes  —  that 
belonged  to  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  Am- 
biguity, circumlocution,  delay,  were  his  delight;  he 
never  expressed  himself  with  directness ;  he  wound  and 
twisted  in  labyrinthine  phraseology  which  might  or 
might  not  mean  something ;  and  he  was  master  of 
Machiavellian  dissimulation. 

The  Spaniards  were  characteristically  flattered,  how- 
ever, by  being  called  together  at  all  —  even  to  vote 
supplies ;  and  they  fancied  themselves  a  free  people  in 
spite  of  the  maintenance  of  a  hitherto  unknown  stand- 
ing army,  the  germs  of  which  were  sown  during  the 
forty-three  years  of  this  reign. 

A  body  of  thirty  thousand  militia,  a  corps  of  sixteen 
hundred  horsemen  patrolling  Andalusia,  garrisons  and 
fortresses  at  frequent  intervals,  twenty  companies  of 
men-at-arms,  and  five  thousand  light  cavalry,  the 
"guards  of  Castile,"  furnished  a  force  whose  ready 
mobilization  was  a  constant  menace  to  the  dozen 
kingdoms  of  which  the  peninsula  consisted.  Philip 
had  but  to  lift  his  long  finger,  and  any  province  could 
be  throttled  in  an  instant. 

The  greatest  architectural  monument  of  this  reign  is 
an  outgrowth  of  the  king's  religious  enthusiasm.  The 
Escorial  — from  scoria^  the  dross  of  iron-mines  found 
in  the  neighborhood  —  is  said  to  be  Saint  Lorenzo's  grid- 
iron in  granite,  and  arose  in  consequence  of  a  vow  to  that 
saint  in  commemoration  of  the  victory  of  St.  Quentin, 


I- 


I  lit. 


508 


Spain  under  Philip  TL 


in  1557.  Philip  had  moved  his  capital  in  1563-64  to 
Madrid,  the  vicinity  of  which  to  this  structure,  its  pure  air, 
and  its  central  locality  offered  to  his  mind  incomparable 
advantages  over  hoar)'  Toledo  or  spacious  Valladolid. 

A  mausoleum,  a  monastery,  a  palace,  a  church,  a 
museum,  a  marvellous  reliquary,  where  the  bones  and 
limbs  of  hundreds  of  saints  were  devoutly  accumulated ; 
a  city  of  corridors,  doors,  windows,  and  apartments ;  a 
great  library,  a  gigantic  picture-gallery,  a  net-work  of 
tanks  and  towers,  a  confession-stool  for  princely  humil- 
ity, a  village  of  Hieronymite  monks,  a  town  clinging  to 
the  sides  of  the  mountain-wilderness  of  the  Guadar- 
ramas,  a  swarming  cloister,  an  austere  hermitage,  a  for- 
tress, —  what  was  not  this  wonderful  edifice,  begun  by 
Juan  Bautista  de  Toledo  in  1563,  and  occupying  thirty 
years  of  Philip's  life  before  it  was  finished  ?  Aranjuez, 
Segovia,  Madrid,  Valladolid,  all  attest  that  union  of  mag- 
nificence with  simplicity  which  distinguished  Philip's 
architectural  taste.  And  through  his  spy-glass  he 
watched  the  Escorial  as  it  rose  in  sober  grandeur  with 
an  interest  more  intense  perhaps  than  he  bestowed 
upon  anything  else.  Delicate  marbles  of  many  hues, 
damasks  and  velvets  of  Granada,  bronze  and  iron  of 
Toledo,  exquisite  work  in  steel,  gold,  and  precious 
stones  from  Milan,  gorgeous  tapestries  from  Flanders, 
rare  embroideries  from  the  thronging  monasteries  of 
Spain,  cedar,  ebony,  marvellously  tinted  woods  from 
beyond  the  seas,  masterpieces  of  Titian  and  the  Italian 
artists  —  all  that  money,  consummate  taste,  and  bound- 
less dominion  could  summon,  hung,  or  glistened,  or 
blazed  with  magical  brilliancy  within  these  walls.  The 
year  1593  saw  the  completion  of  the  monastery,  finished 


The  Buy  of  Alva. 


509 


by  Herrera,  a  pupil  of  Toledo,  after  the  master's  death. 
But  no  jewels  or  precious  loom-work,  or  costly  frescoes 
could  give  the  immense,  cold,  gray  mass  a  gleam  of 
brightness  or  grace.  It  cost  six  million  ducats ;  it  occu- 
pied three-fifths  of  a  square  mile ;  it  had  more  than  a 
thousand  pounds  of  keys,  twelve  thousand  doors  and 
windows,  sixty-eight  fountains,  and  a  dome  three  hun- 
dred and  fifteen  feet  high ;  it  swarmed  with  inestimable 
treasures,  gems,  saints'  bones,  oriental  manuscripts, 
shrines,  paintings,  sculptures;  Philip  dwelt  with  his 
niece-wife  there,  and  an  arctic  radiance  seemed  to 
shed  itself  over  the  icy  Leviathan.  But  it  stood  on  its 
mountain-side,  solitary  and  cheerless,  the  "  eighth  won- 
der of  the  world,"  indeed,  as  the  Castilians  love  to  call 
it,  but  a  majestic  impersonation  of  freezing  gloom,  in- 
capable of  ever  being  sympathetically  regarded. 

Philip's  fourth  queen,  Anne  of  Austria,  died  four 
years  before  it  was  finished,  leaving  besides  other  chil- 
dren, as  a  monument  of  the  dangers  of  consanguine- 
ous marriages,  the  imbecile  bigot  Philip  III.,  who  suc- 
ceeded his  father. 

The  year  1573  saw  the  end  of  Alva's  six  years' 
administration  in  the  Netherlands. 

So  accomplished  a  military  chieftain,  however,  could 
not  be  utterly  dispensed  with,  and  the  duke  afterwards 
proved  an  efficient  instrument  in  the  conquest  of  Port- 
ugal, and  its  union  with  the  crown  of  Spain. 

Of  great  military  excellence,  with  skilful  and  daring 
qualities  as  a  general,  a  consummate  tactician,  a  formid- 
able antagonist  in  field  and  cabinet,  of  faultless  judg- 
ment in  his  military  combinations,  keenly  and  wholly 
foreseeing   and   calculating  upon  precisely  the  points 


510 


Spain  under  Philip  II. 


where  his  opponent,  Louis  of  Nassau,  would  fail,  im- 
movable amid  the  blazing  and  starving  nation  around 
him,  a  commanding  figure  of  cruelty,  serene  amid  immi- 
nent peril,  a  potent  chieftain  everywhere  except  against 
the  unconquerable  Batavians,  — Alva's  audacity^  invent- 
iveness, and  desperate  courage  rang  through  Christen- 
dom.    His  love  of  tyranny,  however,  counteracted  his 
profound  strategy,  for  the  desperation  it  evoked  mad- 
dened millions  into   furious  resistance.     His  political 
economy  was  laughed  at,  for  he  tried  to  make  a  perma- 
nent revenue  out  of  confiscations.     A  prosperous  com- 
monwealth under  him  became  a  gaunt  mob  of  rebellious 
oligarchies.     Murder,  robbery,   the  death  warrant ;  an 
appalling  apparatus  of  despotism ;  statutes  and  popu- 
lar constitutions  made   highways  for  his  feet  of  iron  ; 
indiscriminate  massacre,  slaughtering  in  the  dark,  six 
years  of  grinding  torment,  torture,  and  conflagration; 
forests  of  gibbets,  with  bodies  dead  and  alive  swinging 
to  them  brutally  in  the   pestilential  air ;  dissolution  of 
marriages ;    gibbeting    of    corpses    that   their   estates 
might  be   confiscated  ;   insolence,  grotesque  barbarity, 
and  fiendish  spectacles  of   market-places   turned  into 
roaring   amphitheatres    of    lust,    fire,    and    execution: 
what  light  is  there  to  this  black  and  disordered  picture 
of  the  guilty  duke,  who,  swimming  for  a  life-time  in 
blood,  was  at  length,  in  his  blighted  old  age,  brought  to 
keep  himself    alive  by  milk,   which   he   drew  from   a 
woman's  breast? 

"The  Spanish  Inquisition,  without  intermission  — 
The  Spanish  Inquisition  has  drunk  our  blood 
The  Spanish  Inquisition  !  may  God's  malediction 
Blast  the  Spanish  Inquisition  and  all  her  brood  ! 


p) 


iK%i  ' 


The  Inquisition. 


613 


"  Long  live  the  Beggars !     Wilt  thou  Christ's  word  cherish- 
Long  live  the  Beggars  1  be  bold  of  heart  and  hand  ; 
Long  live  the  Beggars !  God  will  not  see  them  perish ; 
Long  live  the  Beggars  I  oh,  noble  Christian  band  !  " 

So  sang  the  Netherlanders,  "guilty  of  the  crimes  of 
Protestantism  and  opulence  " ;  and  back  thundered  the 
"  Our  Father  of  Ghent  "  : 

"  Our  Father,  in  heaven  which  art, 
Grant  that  this  hellish  devil  may  soon  depart — 
And  with  him  his  Council  false  and  bloody, 
Who  make  murder  and  rapine  their  daily  study — 
And  all  his  savage  war-dogs  of  Spain, 
Oh,  send  them  back  to  the  Devil,  their  father,  again.     Amen." 

The  administration  of  Requesens  (Alva's  successor) 
lasted  from  1573  to  1576,  and  pretended  to  be  moderate 
and  conciliatory,  though  it  labored  under  enormous 
difficulties  arising  from  the  ruin  and  bankruptcy  in 
which  the  country  had  been  left  by  Alva. 

In  1575,  Holland  and  Zealand,  from  which  the  Span- 
iards had  been  almost  completely  expelled,  wereninited 
under  William  of  Orange,  as  absolute  sovereign,  during 
the  war.  The  death  of  Requesens  —  a  mediocre  bigot, 
possessing  hardly  a  tithe  of  Alva's  ability  —  occurred  a 
year  later ;  but  nearly  ever}'  considerable  city  in  the 
Netherlands  —  Antwerp,  Valenciennes,  Ghent,  Utrecht, 
Culemborg,  Viane,  Alost  —  had  been  left  by  him  chained 
hand  and  foot  beneath  the  feet  of  the  Spaniard. 

On  the  8th  of  November,  1576,  was  concluded  the 
memorable  **  Pacification  of  Ghent,"  —  a  union  wrought 
out  by  the  eloquence  of  Orange  between  the  Protestant 


614 


Spain  under  Philip  II. 


v-*% 


i 


provinces  of  Holland  and  Zealand  and  the  fifteen  Cath- 
olic provinces.  It  was  a  league  which  established  mu- 
tual religious  toleration  among  the  hitherto  inharmonious 
provinces,  abolished  the  Inquisition  from  all  alike,  and 
combined  the  whole  nation  into  a  determined  unit  for 
the  expulsion  of  the  Spaniards. 


V    *1 


CHAPTER    XXII. 
END   OF  THE   REIGN   OF   PHILIP   II. 

Don  Juan  of  Austria,  now  thirty-two,  succeeded 
Requesens  as  captain-general,  —  stealing,  as  history 
tells  us,  through  Spain  and  France  in  disguise  as  a 
Moorish  slave,  that  he  might  elude  observation. 

His  career  in  the  Netherlands  was  inglorious,  its  mid- 
dle year  being  characterized  by  the  so-called  "  Perpet- 
ual Edict,"  a  compromise  which  the  provinces  wrung 
from  him  with  the  bitterness  of  death.  It  ratified  the 
Ghent  arrangement,  promised  removal  of  soldiery  as 
soon  as  possible,  maintenance  of  the  privileges,  char- 
ters, and  constitutions  of  the  Netherlands  ;  required  an 
oath  to  uphold  the  Catholic  religion,  and  recognized 
Don  Juan  as  governor-general.  In  December,  1577,  dis- 
covering that  this  arrangement  was  insincere,  designed 
as  a  mere  blind  to  carry  out  the  schemes  of  Philip,  the 
states-general  deposed  Don  Juan,  and  war,  after  a  brief 
respite,  blazed  forth  afresh. 

A  treaty  with  Queen  Elizabeth  —  the  beginning  of  a 
long  and  famous  connection — was  concluded  by  the 
States  in  January,  1578,  to  the  boundless  pique  of  the 
imperial  bastard.  He  thundered  forth  war  in  French, 
German,  and  Flemish,  dreaming  of  victory,  as  well  he 

515 


516 


Spain  under  Philip  IL 


|l       4 


might :  a  superb  soldier  himself,  the  lode-star  of  twenty 
thousand  picked  veterans,  and  begirt  by  the  most  re- 
markable military  geniuses  in  Europe  — Alexander  Far- 
nese,  Mansfeld,  Mendoza,  and  Mondragon. 

But  both  sides  being  abjectly  poor,  the  war  dragged 
wearily  on  ;  and  Don  Juan  — thwarted  by  Philip's  silence 
and  eternal  delays,  out  of  money,  surrounded  by  innu- 
merable enemies,  suspected  by  the  king  himself,  the 
pestilence  making  dreadful  ravages  ,in  his  little  army, 
disgraced  and  abandoned,  as  he  said,  by  the  king,  in  ter- 
tor  of  the  insidious  practices  of  the  French  (who  had 
now  entered  the  country),  filled  with  gnawing  melan- 
choly, consumed  by  fever,  tossing  on  his  bed  in  fantastic 
visions  of  battles  and  victories,  utterly  wrecked  in  health 
by  care,  chagrin,  and  despondency,  —  breathed  forth 
his  heroic  soul  in  that  very  month  rendered  immortal 
by  the  battle  of  Lepanto. 

Philip  was  suspected  of  having  poisoned  him.  His 
body  was  transported  to  Spain  to  the  king's  presence,  a 
disembowelled  spectre  blazing  with  jewels,  balsams,  and 
brocades,  in  perfumed  gloves  and  sparkling  insignia  of 
the  Golden  Fleece ;  but  historians  do  not  tell  us  that 
Philip  was  overwhelmed  with  grief. 

Wonder  and  compassion  will  strike  all  who  contem- 
plate this  singular  career.  A  fine  military  commander, 
famous  in  the  Moorish  wars,  matchless  in  his  Turkish 
successes,  accomplished  in  many  languages,  fascinating 
in  manners,  singularly  handsome,  fluent,  and  high- 
spirited,  a  visionary  dreaming  of  impossible  sovereign- 
ties, embodying  the  most  enviable  gifts  of  the  crusader 
and  the  wandering  knight,  Barbara  Blomberg's  son 
died  at  thirty-three,  baffled,  disappointed,  broken-hearted. 


VALENCIAN  LABORER. 


The  Netherland  Butchery. 


519 


I 


And  over  the  Pyrenees  sat  the  uxorious  Philip  spinning  his 
innumerable  wiles,  gathering  his  complicated  spider- 
web  of  intrigue  and  death  about  whomsoever  approached 
him,  benignly  doing  the  work  of  half  a  dozen  men  in 
his  silent  cabinet,  grasping  in  his  hands  chords  that 
could  wring  harmonies  or  torments  from  dominions  wide 
as  the  world ;  passively  gazing  upon  this  noble,  dying 
Lion-hearted,  so  beautiful,  so  daring,  so  unfortunate. 

Margaret  of  Parma's  son,  Alexander  Farnese,  a 
nephew  of  Philip,  —  a  gifted,  dangerous,  and  impas- 
sioned soldier,  —  sprang  into  the  breach  caused  by 
the  death  of  his  uncle,  Don  Juan  of  Austria,  and  exer- 
cised his  great  military  talents  there  in  a  way  which 
transcended  even  the  glories  of  Alva's  reign.  The 
House  of  Austria,  after  producing  four  princes  of  great 
ability,  —  Charles,  Philip,  Don  Juan,  and  the  Prince  of 
Parma,  — princes  whose  wonderful  careers  filled  the  cen- 
tury from  1500  to  1598,  —  lapsed  into  a  state  of  imbe- 
cility and  went  out  in  the  semi-idiocy  and  melancholy 
of  Philip  III.  and  IV.  and  Charles  II.  (1700). 

Alexander  Farnese,  grandson  of  Pope  Paul  III. — edu- 
cated at  Alcala  with  Don  Carlos  and  Don  Juan ;  a  capi- 
tal huntsman,  tourneyer,  gladiator;  husband  of  the 
spotless  Maria  of  Portugal ;  a  midnight  brawler  in  his 
father's  capital ;  a  hero  of  Lepanto,  where  he  grappled 
and  captured  the  treasure-ship  of  the  Moslems ;  a  dark- 
eyed,  side-glancing,  sinister-looking,  handsome  man, 
sumptuously  apparelled,  princely-mannered,  desperate, 
and  audacious,  — smote  the  Netherlanders  hip  and  thigh ; 
hung,  butchered,  drowned,  and  burned  like  a  true  Ro- 
man Catholic  of  that  age,  expiated  his  sins  by  torch- 


f» 


520 


Spain  under  Philip  11. 


light  mass,  but  found  his  match  in  the  serene,  silent- 
working  Prince  of  Orange. 

Holland,  Zealand,  Gelderland,  Ghent,  Friesland, 
Utrecht,  Overyssel,  and  Groningen,  concluded  in  Janu- 
ary, 1579,  the  Union  of  Utrecht,  which  was  the  basis 
of  the  Dutch  Republic  and  the  foundation-stone  of  two 
hundred  years  of  glory  and  splendor.  It  ratified  the 
"  Ghent  Pacification,"  which  still  acknowledged  Philip, 
yet  contracted  to  expel  the  foreigner  ;  carefully  abstained 
from  religious  intolerance ;  retained  all  the  ancient  con- 
stitutions, charters,  and  forms ;  left  upon  their  ancient 
foundations  and  with  their  ancient  peculiarities  a  mass 
of  historic  sovereignties  mutually  independent  and  yet 
unified ;  accepted  existing  civil  and  political  institu- 
tions, and  wrought  an  iron  league  which,  without  pre- 
meditation, developed  into  the  Republic  of  the  United 
Netherlands  and  left  the  Walloon  sovereignties  alien- 
ated, down  to  our  time,  from  their  heroic  brethren 
of  the  North. 

This  league,  by  slow  and  stealthy  degrees,  grew  into  a 
solemn  declaration  of  independence  and  renunciation 
of  allegiance  to -Philip  in  July,  1581.  The  Prince  of 
Orange  accepted  the  supreme  power  in  Holland  and 
Zealand  for  the  term  of  the  war,  but  in   1582  without 

limitation. 

The  "Act  of  Abjuration,"  as  this  declaration  was 
called,  deposed  Philip  without  establishing  formally  any 
Republic,  maintained  a  system  of  hereditary  sover- 
eignty mingled  with  popular  institutions  to  which  the 
burghers  were  attached,  devised  no  special  constitution,^ 
rid  the  country  of  a  mischievous  tyranny,  and  put  an 
end  "  to  the  first  and  true  cause  of  all  our  miseries,"  — 


William  of  Orange, 


521 


the  Inquisition.  That  all  seventeen  provinces  did  not 
join  in  this  magnetic  circle  was  owing  to  the  ambition 
of  certain  grandees  anxious  to  uphold  the  independence 
of  their  individual  states,  to  religious  intolerance,  to  the 
genius  of  Farnese  whose  management  prevented  a  con- 
federation, and  to  the  self-abnegation  of  William  the 
Silent,  who  refused  to  become  the  chief  of  the  United 
States. 

Henry,  the  Cardinal  King  of  Portugal,  having  died 
in  1580,  the  Spaniards  under  Alva  overran  the  country 
in  two  months,  and  Philip  received  homage  as  king  of 
Portugal  at  Lisbon,  in  1581. 

Italians,  Lorrainers,  Englishmen,  Scotchmen,  and 
Spaniards,  had  long  been  trying  to  murder  Orange,  — 
five  attempts  were  made  in  two  years  —  and  at  length  a 
small,  spindle-shanked,  wonderfully  courageous  Bur- 
gundian,  Francis  Guion,  alias  Balthazar  Gerard,  suc- 
ceeded on  a  Tuesday  morning  in  July,  1584,  in  ancient, 
linden-avenued  Delft. 

"  O,  my  God,  have  mercy  upon  my  soul !  O,  my  God, 
have  mercy  upon  this  poor  people ! "  were  William's 
last  words  as  he  fell  riddled  with  Gerard's  poisoned 
slugs. 

William  died  in  his  fifty-second  year,  leaving  eleven 
children  by  his  four  marriages  (with  Anne  of  Egmont, 
Anna  of  Saxony —  a  coarse  maniac  —  Charlotte  of  Bour- 
bon, and  Louisa  de  Coligny).  Two  of  his  sons —  Prince 
Maurice  of  Nassau  and  the  Stadtholder  of  the  Repub- 
lic, Frederic  Henry  —  maintained  the  undying  fame  of 
the  race. 

Piery,  fortitude,  serene  enthusiasm,  perfect  disinter- 
estedness, munificence  that  plunged  him  into  debt,  were 


iti 


522 


Spain  under  Philip  TL 


prominent  characteristics  of  the  great  prince.  An  inimi- 
table captain,  a  political  genius  of  the  first  order,  of 
commanding  and  suggestive  eloquence,  of  an  industry 
paralleled  by  that  of  Philip  alone ;  a  thorough  linguist ; 
a  subtle  and  profound  intriguer,  who  had  won  over 
Philip's  very  secretary  to  transmit  to  him  for  ten  years 
copies  of  all  his  dispatches;  a  patriot  and  self-abnegator 
illumined  by  a  divine  mission  ;  an  athlete,  a  philosopher, 
and  a  Christian,  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  undoubtedly 
the  greatest  man  of  his  age.  All  the  Netherlands  hung 
affectionately  about  the  tomb  of  '*  Father  William,"  and 
beo-irdled  it  with  the  living  immortelles  of  their  tears 

and  memories. 

The  duke  of  Anjou,  elected  by  the  united  Provinces 
in  1583   duke  of  Brabant  and  sovereign  of  the  whole 
country,  proved  a  traitor,  and  fortunately  died  in  1584. 
The  provinces  then,  after  applying  to   Henry  III.  of 
France,  turned    to  "  the  glorious  virgin  who  then  ruled 
England,"    and    pressed   the    sovereignty    upon    her. 
While  declining  the  proposed  honor,  Elizabeth  threw 
down  the  gauntlet  to  Spain,  by  the  publication  of  her 
famous  manifesto  and  solemn  treaty  of  alliance  with 
the  Netherlands,  in  1585.     Philip,  who  hated  the  Prot- 
estant princess  with  all  the  venom  of  a  rejected  suitor, 
forthwith  took  measures  for  operations  against  England. 
Because  Holland  was  the  very  threshold  of  England; 
because  the  two  countries  were  so  intimately  associated 
by  position,  nationality,  religion,  and    commerce;   be- 
cause the  conquest  of  England  had  been  determined 
upon  by  Philip  after  he   had  conquered  Holland ;  and 
because   England  and  Protestantism  might  be  annihi- 
lated if  Philip  once  got  control  of  the  immense  wealth, 


The  Earl  of  Leicester. 


523 


spacious  ports,  and  numerous  fleet  of  Holland ;  such 
were  the  reasons  that  moved  the  great  but  eccentric 
queen  to  help  the  Dutch. 

The  earl  of  Leicester— famous  in  romance,  intrigue, 
and  love ;  the  most  picturesque  chieftain  of   the  age  \ 
the  man  of  infinite  crimes  according  to   his  enemies' 
and  of  matchless  virtues  according   to  Elizabeth ;  "  a 
rare   artist   in   poison ; "   the   grandee-favorite   of '  the 
queen,    whose   calumnies,    murders,    accomplishments, 
widow-marrying,    wife-killing,    jexvelled    apparel,   gem- 
pierced  ears,  magnificence  in  dress,  overgrown  figure, 
and  subtle  blandishments  to  an  infatuated  mistress,  have 
come  down   to  us  vividly  depictured  in  contemporary 
prose  —  was  made  lieutenant  general  of  the  five  thou- 
sand English  sent  over  to  the  aid  of  the  Dutch.     Side 
by  side  with  him  stood  his  nephew,  — -  the  very  genius  of 
poetry  and  chivalry,  an  effulgent  impersonation  of  chiv- 
alrous culture,  a  beautiful  apparition  with  "  amber-col- 
ored hair,"  blue  eyes,  high-born  features,  and  the  soul 
of  all  knight-errantry  in  him,  the  dreamer  of  Arcadia, 
the  friend  of  Melancthon  and  William  the  Silent,   the 
star  of  Astrophel,  and  son-in-law  of  Walsingham',  the 
pearl-embroidered  Adonis  in  blue  gilded   armor, 'who 
flashes  on  us  like  a  Knight  of  the   Holy  Grail,  the 
scholar,  poet,  statesman,  —  Sir  Philip  Sidney. 

The  skirmish  of  Zutphen,  in  1586,  was  rendered  for- 
ever '*  to  our  posterity  famous,"  as  Leicester  said  it 
would  be,  by  the  death  of  Sidney.  "  Thy  necessity  is 
even  greater  than  mine,"  said  he,  handing  the  cup  of 
water  to  the  wounded  soldier.  His  dying  words  to 
Robert  Sidney  were  "Love  my  memory,  cherish  my 
friends.     Above  all,  govern  your  will  and  affections  by 


624 


Spai7i  under  Philip  11. 


the  will  and  word  of  your  Creator ;    in  me  beholding 
the  end  of  the  world  with  all  her  vanities." 

Thus  beautifully  he  died,  talking  of  Plato  and  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  listening  to  sweet  music,  and 
remembering  all  his  friends  with  gifts  and  rings. 

The  blazing  bonfires  in  Cadiz  and  Lisbon  harbors, 
caused  by  Sir  Francis  Drake's  scuttling  and  burning  two 
hundred  and  fifty  Spanish  galleys  and  transports,  gave 
the  Spaniards  in  1587  a  foretaste  of  the  Great  Armada 
disaster  of  the  next  year,  as  well  as  of  the  pluck  of 
English  mariners.  Leicester's  governor-generalship  in 
the  Netherlands,  owing  to  his  unpopularity,  the  queen's 
double-dealing,  and  Farnese's  tactics,  had  proved  a 
failure,  and  in  January,  1588,  he  had  resigned. 

In  1588,  Philip  tried  to  carry  out  his  insolent  scheme 
against  England.  The  invincible  Armada  —  an  assem- 
blage of  one  hundred  and  forty  ships  in  ten  squadrons, 
with  thirty  thousand  men  on  board,  commanded  by  the 
"golden"  duke  of  Medina-Sidonia  —  set  sail  from 
Coruria  toward  the  last  of  May,  1588,  with  Calais  harbor 
as  its  destination.  Galley-slaves,  grandees,  mendicant 
friars,  soldiers,  inquisitors,  bands  of  music,  great  cas- 
tellated galeasses,  mighty  galleons,  gilded  saints,  heavy 
cannon,  thousands  of  sailors,  servants,  and  adventurers, 
store-ships,  caravels,  familiars  of  the  Inquisition,  huge 
monster  vessels,  driven  by  three  hundred  slaves  a-piece 

such  were  the  incongruous  elements  of  the  armament 

that  floated  out  amid  the  tempests  of  the  Bay  of  Biscay 
that  May  of   1588. 

A  girdle  of  beacon  lights  shone  along  the  coast  of 
England  and  flashed  the  news  that  the  Spaniards  were 
coming.     Drake,    Frobisher,    Howard,    %nd    Hawkins, 


The  Spanish  Armada. 


627 


with  their  sixty-seven  light  and  swift  ships,  —  as  won- 
derfully alert  on  the  sea  as  the  Moors  were  with  their 
flash-and-go  horse  in  the  plains  of  Andalusia,  —  hovered 
about,  sunk,  cannonaded,  boarded,  destroyed,  utterly 
discomfited  the  huge,  indolent-sailing  Spanish  ocean- 
palaces,  and  brought  to  utter  grief  the  vast  half-moon 
of  the  Spanish  Armada.  The  English  darted  to  and 
fro  like  infuriated  hornets,  and  grappled  the  galleons 
with  a  grim  determination  to  sink  them  or  be  sunk. 
Their  decks  were  thronged  with  patricians  eager  to 
immortalize  themselves  —  Raleigh,  Willoughby,  William 
Hatton,  Cecil,  Oxford,  Brooke,  Noel,  Northumberland, 
Cumberland;  and  added  to  these  came  enormous  "float- 
ing volcanoes  "  at  night,  dazzling  the  pitchy  darkness 
with  unutterable  light  and  fire,  and  shattering  the  Span- 
ish hulks  to  flinders.  Howard  "  plucked  their  feathers 
little  by  little,"  as  he  said,  between  July  31st  and 
August  9. 

The  Armada,  utterly  routed,  crippled,  and  thunder- 
riven  by  the  English  broadsides,  swept  panic-stricken 
through  the  North  sea  into  the  icy  and  inhospitable 
waters  of  Scotland  and  Norway.  A  series  of  tempests 
providentially  aided  the  English,  who  had  to  abandon 
the  chase ;  and  perhaps  ten  thousand  alone,  out  of  the 
thirty  thousand  men  who  had  sailed  forth,  ever  drank 
Spanish  wine  or  heard  a  Spanish  mass  again.  The  sea 
was  full  of  Spanish  grandees  and  Spanish  ducats. 
Eighty-one  out  of  one  hundred  and  forty  vessels  per- 
ished or  were  captured,  while  the  feeling  in  Spain  may 
be  argued  from  the  fact  that  a  Lisbon  merchant,  who  ven- 
tured to  laugh  at  the  wreck  of  the  Armada,was  gibbetted. 

'i'he  murder  of  the  Guises,  the  assassination  of  Henry 


528 


Spain  under  Philip  IL 


III.  of  France,  last  of  the  Valois,  and  the  claims  of 
Henry  of  Navarre  to  the  throne,  — tiery  Gascon  Hugue- 
not that  he  was,  —  had  plunged  France  into  an  ocean  of 
anarchy,  league,  and  counter-league.  Philip  hniiself 
claimed  the  throne  through  the  Infanta,  his  daughter, 
grand-daughter  of  Henry  II.,  and  the  horrible  rumor 
circulated,  "  that  if  the  Salic  law  could  not  be  set  aside 
in  her  favor,  he  meant  to  get  a  dispensation  and  marry 
her  himself,"  thus  confirming  his  right  to  the  crown,  in 

virtue  of  his  wife. 

The  death  of  the  Prince  of  Parma,  in  1592,  pursued 
as  he  was  by  the  malice,  ingratitude,  and  suspicions  of 
his  roval  uncle,  gave  a  severe  blow  to  the  Spanish 
dause  in  the  Low  Countries,  hardly  bettered  by  his  suc- 
cessor, the  Archduke  Ernest,  brother  of  the  Emperor 

Rudolph. 

The  hard-faced,  antique-looking  Count  Fuentes,  —  a 
grizzled  and  leathern-skinned  reminiscence  of  Alva, 
one  of  those  alert,  sagacious,  saffron-colored,  sinister- 
eved  apparitions,  in  Brussels  point  and  Milan  armor, 
that  look  out  of  the  corners  of  their  eyes  at  us  from 
Velasquez's    portraits  -  succeeded    the    archduke    m 

'^Another  of  the  Habsburgtrs— the  Archduke  Cardi- 
nal Albert,  of  Toledo— arrived  in  the  Netherlands  in- 
1596,  as  governor-general  in  Fuentes'  stead. 

About  this  time,  a  combined  expedition  of  Dutch  and 
English  forces  attacked  the  Spanish  war-ships  at  Cadiz, 
and  planted  the  flag  of  the  republic  on  the  fortress  of 
Cadiz  itself,  succeeded  by  the  capitulation  and  sackmg 

of  the  citv. 

Philip's  second  armada,  fitted  out  for  the  conquest  of 


Treaty  of  VervinH. 


529 


Ireland,  went  to  the  bottom  in  1596-7,  by  aid  of  the 
same  succoring  tempests  that  had  shattered  the  armada 
of  1588,  and  with  it  5,000  men.  Mexico  was  literally 
transmuted  into  golden  ducats,  wafted  to  Spain  by  vast 
Indiamen  for  the  Danae-tub  of  Philip's  Fountain  of 
Perpetual  Schemes.  No  difficulty,  no  defeat  baffled  his 
purpose.  His  gigantic  villainy  in  repudiating  his  enor- 
mous debts  under  the  guise  of  religion,  in  1596,  beg- 
gared the  archduke  governor-general,  and  produced  "a 
general  howl  of  indignation  and  despair  upon  every 
exchange,  in  every  counting-room,  in  every  palace,  in 
every  cottage  in  Christendom.'' 

The  treaty  of  peace  between  France  and  Spain,  — 
war  had  been  proclaimed  by  Henry  in  1595,  —  signed 
at  Vervins  in  May,  1598,  almost  contemporaneously 
with  the  famous  Edict  of  Nantes  in  favor  of  the  Prot- 
estant subjects  of  Henry  IV.,  was  as  disgraceful  to 
Philip  as  the  opening  treaty  of  his  long  reign  at  Cateau 
Cambresis,  in  1559,  had  been  humbling  to  France. 
Philip  conceded  nearly  everything  that  Henry  de- 
manded. The  same  spring  he  transferred  the  Nether- 
lands to  his  daughter  Isabella  and  her  intended  hus- 
band, the  cardinal  archduke  Albert,  as  tranquilly  as  if 
the  whole  matter  were  an  ordinary  business  transaction. 
The  Infante  Philip,  his  only  son,  married  Margaret  of 
Austria  by  proxy  at  the  same  time,  —  another  specimen 
of  that  frequent  intermarriage  of  relations  so  popular 
between  Spain  and  Austria,  and  which  everywhere  spun 
threads  of  madness,  idiocy,  depravity,  and  melancholy 
through  the  whole  connection. 

Philip  himself,  now  seventy-one  and  in  the  forty-third 
year  of  his  reign,  was  this  year  smitten  with  the  loath- 


/■ 


530 


Spain  under  FhlUp  IL 


Philip^s  Character. 


631 


ti 


some  disease  by  which  he  was  soon  to  expiate  physi- 
cally the  enormities  of  his  life.     He  lingered  from  June 
to  September  in  horrible  agony,  —  devoured  alive  by  in- 
numerable vermin  which  had  developed  in  myriads  out 
of  his  gouty  and  corrupted  joints,  and  in  exquisite  ma- 
lignity surpassed    every  deviltry  ever  invented  by  the 
Inquisition.     Seeing  his  end  approaching,  extreme  unc- 
tion and  the  Lord's  Supper  were  administered  to  him 
repeatedly,   at  his  own  request;  he  rubbed  his  sores 
with  the  knee-bones  of  saints  ;  he  discoursed  with  edi- 
fication on  sacred  subjects  ;  he  provided  thirty  thousand 
masses  to  be  said  for  his  soul ;  and  made  minute  mil- 
liner-like directions  about  his  funeral  obsequies. 

His  last  words  were,  "  I  die  like  a  good  Catholic,  in 
faith  and  obedience  to  the  Holy  Roman  Church" 
Then  a  paroxysm  passed  over  the  bedful  of  crowned 
misery,  and  Philip  was  no  more. 

Thus  ended  the  absolute  despotism  of  Philip  H.,  — a 
despotism  fountained  and  centred  in  him,  with  absolute 
power  to  nominate  and  remove  every  judge,  magistrate, 
military  or  civil  officer,  every  archbishop,  bishop,  and 
ecclesiastic  of  whatever  sort ;  a  reign  consumed  "  in 
accomplishing  infinite  nothing  ;  "  in  extinguishing  free 
institutions  and  venerable  municipal  privileges ;  in  nul- 
lifying legislative  and  deliberative  bodies;  in  "eluding 
justice  and  constitutional  right  of  every  sort;  in  in- 
famous self-indulgence,  criminality,  and  assassination ; 
in  kindling  everlasting  war  in  neighboring  countries  ; 
in  corrupting,  bribing,  and  espionaging  half  of  contem- 
porary Europe  ;  in  murdering  thousands  of  human 
beings  ;  in  generating  the  noisome  and  gigantic  pesti- 
lence of  an  omnipresent  Inquisition  ;  and  in  organized 


terrorism,  hostility  of  class  to  class,  and  extermination 
of  the  popular  will. 

The  most  valuable  part  of  the  population  of  this 
world-empire  was  "  accursed  "  and  excommunicated. 
Philip  himself  was  the  kingdom  concentrated  in  one 
all-powerful  personality.  Dependencies  girdling  the 
globe  hung  by  a  thread  of  iron  to  a  middle-sized,  yel- 
low-haired fanatic,  who  with  horrible  monotony  of  evil 
poisoned  the  world  for  seventy-one  years,  and  died 
leaving  a  memory  compounded  of  every  evil-smelling 
thing  under  the  sun. 

He  lived  and  breathed  murder,  as  we  know  by  his 
attempted  killing  of  Elizabeth,  Henry  of  Navarre,  and 
John  of  Olden-Barneveld,  the  great  burgher;  by  his 
assassination  of  Egmont,  Hoorne,  and  William  the  Si- 
lent ;  by  his  suspected  assassination  of  his  own  and,  at 
that  time,  only  son,  Don  Carlos,  and  his  nephew,  Don 
Juan  of  Austria ;  by  his  condemning  millions  to  death 
in  the  Netherlands  by  one  edict ;  by  the  grinning  skull 
of  the  chief-justice  of  Aragon  fixed  for  years  in  a  Span- 
ish market-place  ;  and  by  the  assassination  of  his  sec- 
retary, Escovedo.  Countless  families  were  reduced  by 
him  to  beggary;  and  confiscations,  extortions,  black- 
mail had  become  commonplaces. 

It  is  also  difficult  to  conceive  how  a  man  could  be  so 
false,  so  utterly  hypocritical,  mendacious,  and  faithless 
as  Philip  was,  —  serene  incarnation  of  passionless  evil 
as  history  shows  him  to  be.  Illiterate,  petty-minded, 
and  full  of  cant,  he  could  not  spell,  tell  the  truth,  or  be 
sincere,  if  it  had  cost  him  his  life  ;  nor  did  he  scruple 
for  his  own  nefarious  purposes  to  take  twenty-five  per 


532 


Spain  under  Philip  II. 


I  !i 


cent  of  the  $12,000,000  of  precious  metals  annually 
dug  out  of  the  mines  of  Mexico.  He  governed  a 
colossal  realm  composed  of  the  most  heterogeneous 
elements,  and  separated  in  every  possible  way,  —  in 
language,  locality,  color,  institutions.  With  Peru,  Mex- 
ico, Brazil,  and  the  Antilles,  from  Cape  Horn  to  Labra- 
dor ;  the  seventeen  Netherland  provinces  ;  the  twelve 
kingdoms  of  Spain  and  Portugal ;  the  two  Sicilies ; 
Milan  ;  portions  of  Tuscany  ;  Barbary  ;  Guinea  ;  the 
African  coast  southwards,  and  the  Indian  peninsulas 
and  archipelagos  ;  the  Philippine  and  Molucca  Islands  ; 
with  the  grand-duchy  of  Florence,  and  the  republic  of 
Genoa  as  virtual  vassals,  titular  king  of  England, 
Wales,  and  Ireland,  and  claiming  the  kingdom  of 
France  through  his  daughter,  Philip  was  a  universal 
monarch  indeed. 

His  swarming  armies,  his  perpetual  levies,  and  con- 
tributions, his  habitual  violation  of  good  faith  in  repud- 
iating his  debts,  his  twelve  millions  of  Spaniards  and 
Portuguese  embraced  in  the  united  peninsula,  the  in- 
dustrial and  scientific  civilization  exhibited  by  his 
"  accursed "  troops  of  Jews,  Moors,  and  Dutch,  his 
holy  office  spread  over  two  hemispheres,  his  indom- 
itable soldiers,  his  hierarchy  of  archbishops  (11)  and 
bishops  (62)  with  their  hold  on  one-third  of  the  entire 
income  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  —  all  his  marriages,  in- 
heritances, gifts,  and  cruelties  :  all  this  and  much  more 
proved  of  no  avail ;  he  could  not  conquer  the  Nether- 
lands ;  he  never  did  succeed  fully  and  permanently  in 
anything ;  he  never  had  one  moment's  freedom  from 
suspicion;    he  was  hated,  dreaded,   despised;  he  was 


PEASANTS  IN  THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  OF  MADRID. 


Death  of  Philip  11. 


535 


utterly  outgeneralled  by  Henry  of  Navarre  and  the  vir- 
gin queen  ;  his  great  fleets  were  scattered  like  feathers; 
his  armies  mutinied;  and  he  died  a  wreck  of  disap- 
pointed and  ignoble  ambition,  a  striking  monument  of 
a  life  lived  almost  utterly  in  vain. 


|_LlliHlJi.J.IJL|L     J"«'.g1tfM 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

FROM  THE  DEATH  OF   PHILIP   H.,  TO  THE   ACCES- 
SION OF  THE  BOURBONS. 
REIGNS  OF  PHILIP  HL,  PHILIP  IV.,  AND  CHARLES  H. 

WE  have  devoted  a  more  extended  attention  to 
the  reigns  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  Charles 
v.,  and  Philip  II.,  because  they  form  a  cluster  of  reigns 
the  most  important   within  the  cycle  of   Spanish  his- 
tory.    Spain  became  united  and  consolidated  under  the 
Catholic  kings ;    it  became  a  cosmopolitan  empire  un- 
der  Charles  ;  and  in  Philip,  austere,  bigoted,  and   com- 
manding, its  height  of  glory  was  reached.     Thenceforth 
the  Austrian  supremacy  in  the  peninsula  — the  star  of 
the   House  of    Habsburg  —  declined,  until  a  whiff  of 
diplomacy  was  sufficient  to  extinguish  its  lights  in  the 
person  of  the  childless  and  imbecile  Charles^II. 

Three  reigns  —  Philip  IH.  (1598-1621),  Philip  IV. 
(1621-1665),  and  Charles  H.  (1665-1 700)  —  fill  this 
century  of  national  decline,  full  as  it  is  of  crowned 
idiocy,  hypochondria,  and  madness,  the  result  of  inces- 
tuous marriages,  or  natural  weakness.  The  splendid  and 
prosperous  Spanish  empire  under  the  emperor  and  his 
son  —  its  vast  conquests,  discoveries,  and  foreign  wars, 
—  becomes  transformed  into  a  bauble  for  the  caprice  of 
favorites,  under  their  successors. 

536 


A  Retrospect. 


537 


From  the  boundless  confusion,  degradation,  and  dis- 
solution of  the  very  forms  of  government  which  took 
place  at  the  death  of  Enrique  IV.,  in   1474,  Spain  had, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  passed  to  a 
point  where  it  towered  far  above  all  the  kingdoms  of 
Europe  in  definite  aims  and  in  thorough  consolidation 
of  the  elements  of  power.     The  union  of  Castile  and 
Aragon,    and    the   conquest  of   the    Mahometans,  had 
made  the  land  one.     A  nation,  the  most  highly  individ- 
ualized and  tumultuous  of  the  middle  ages,  rent  by  the 
controversies  of  an  ambitious  nobility,  an  uncontrolled 
clergy,  and  the  innumerable  communities  which  formed 
petty  republics  in   themselves  within  its  borders,  sud- 
denly abandons  its  strifes,  and  follows  the  path  of  law 
and  order  as  developed  in  a  wise  administration,  a  care- 
ful police,  a  vigorous  system  of  justice,  and  educational 
establishments  of  sufficient  range.     The  crown  became 
the  commanding  power  in  the  land.     The  battle-fields 
of   Italy,  the   immense   fields  of   western    exploration, 
became  the  theatres  of  a  restless  energy  hitherto  de- 
voted to  civil  war.     The  marriage  of  Juana  with  Philip 
the  Handsome,  brought  Spain  in  the  sixteenth  century 
into  intimate  contact  with  the  house  of  Habsburg;  and 
thus  it  entered   into   the  vast  aggregate  of   European 
states.     Its  isolated  position  —  a  huge  promontory  of 
south-western  Europe,  severed  by  the  Pyrenees  from  its 
neighbors,  —  no  longer  worked  against  it.     Its  blood, 
seething  with    Phenician,   Carthaginian,   Roman,    Ger- 
manic, and   Asiatic   influences,  mingled  many  of   the 
best  elements  of  the  north,  east,  and  west,  and  prepared 
it  for  a  career  of  unexampled  scope  under  the  emperor. 
Its  contact  with  the  Netherlandish,  Italian,  and  Ger- 


538 


Reign  of  Philip   TIL 


>  man  dominions  of  Charles  V.,  might  have  been  of  infi- 
nite benefit,  had  not  the   Reformation  placed  it  in  an 
attitude  of  rigid  hostility  to  the  great  European  federa- 
tion into  which  it  had  just  entered.     Thereafter,  as  in 
the  times  of  the  Moors,  its  wars  all  became  religious 
wars,  —  the  narrowest  and  most  soul-sterilizing  of  all,  — 
whether  against  the  union  of  Smalkalde,  the  rebellious 
Netherlands,  Elizabeth  of  England,   the  Grand  Turk, 
the  African   Beys,  or  the  Aztecs,  the   Incas,  and    the 
Araucanians  of  Chili.     This  attitude  towards  the   rest 
of  the  world  was  due  to  the  bigotry  of  the    Habsburg- 
ers,  and  in  this  attitude  of  cr)^stallized  hostility,  of  un- 
impressionable fanaticism,  of  non-progression,  and  un- 
enlightenment,  Spain  has  ever  since   remained.     The 
seven  centuries  of  conflict  with  Islam  were  succeeded 
by  nearly  as  many  with  Luther  and  Calvin. 

Both  Charles's  and  Philip's  highest  ambition  ran  in 
the  double  line  of  giving  Spain  the  dominant  place 
in  the  European  hierarchy,  and  maintaining  victoriously 
the  unity  of  the  Catholic  faith.  They  did  not  struggle 
in  vain.  For  two  generations  Spain  was  the  first  power 
in  the  world,  and  it  is  due  to  its  influence  that  the 
Reformation  w^as  discredited  and  expelled  from  France, 
Italy,  Bavaria,  Austria,  Poland,  and  the  Southern  Neth- 
erlands. ''  And  yet  what  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain 
the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul .?  "  Amid  its  im- 
measurable wealth,  Spain  was  bankrupt.  The  gold,  and 
silver,  and  precious  stones  of  the  West,  emptied  them- 
selves into  a  land  the  poorest  and  most  debt-laden  in 
Europe,  the  most  spiritually  ignorant  despite  the  count- 
less churches,  the  most  notorious  for  its  dissolute  nobil- 
it}%  its  worthless  officials,  its  ignoble  family  relations, 


Eet7 


'ogression. 


541 


its  horrible  moral  aberrations  pervading  all  grades  of 
the  population;    and  all  in  vain.     The    mighty  fancy, 
the  enthusiastic  loyalty,  the  fervid  faith  of  the  richly 
endowed  Spaniard  were  not  counterbalanced  by  hum- 
bler but  more  practical  virtues,  —  love  of  industry,  of 
agriculture,  of  manufactures.     The  Castilians  hated  the 
doings  of  citizens  and  peasants  ;  the  taint  of  the  Arab 
and  the  Jew  was  on   the  profession  of  money-getting. 
Thousands  left  their  ploughs  and  went  to   the   Indies, 
found  places  in  the  police,  or  bought  themselves  titles 
of  nobility,  which  forthwith  rendered  all  work  dishonor- 
able.     The  land  grew  into  a  literal  infatuation  with 
miracles,  relics,  cloisters,  fraternities,  pious  foundations 
of    every   description.     The   church   was    omnipotent. 
Nobody  cultivated  the  soil.     Hundreds  of  thousands 
lived  in  the  convents.     Begging  soup  at  the  monastery 
gates,— such  is  a  type  of  the  famishing  Spain  of  the 
seventeenth  century.     In  economic,  political,  physical, 
moral,  and  intellectual  aspects,  a  decay  pervaded  the 
peninsula  under  the  later  Habsburgers,  such  as  no  civil- 
ized  nation  has  ever  undergone.     The  population  de- 
clined from  ten  millions  under  Charles  V.  (Charles  I.  of 
Spain)  to  six  millions  under  Charles  II.    The  people  had 
vanished  from  hundreds  of  places  in  New  Castile,  Old 
Castile,    Toledo,   Estremadura,    and   Andalusia,    'one 
might  travel  miles  in  the  lovely  regions  of  the   South, 
without  seeing  a  solitary  cultivated  field  or  dwelling! 
Seville  was  almost  depopulated.     Pecuniary  distress  at 
the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  reached  an  unexam- 
pled height ;  the  soldiers  wandered   through  the  cities 
begging  ;  nearly  all  the  great  fortresses  from  Barcelona 
to  Cadiz  were  ruinous;  the  king's  servants  ran   away 


642 


Reign  of  Philip  IIL 


because  they  were  neither  paid  nor  fed  ;  more  than 
once  there  was  no  money  to  supply  the  royal  table  ;  the 
ministers  were  besieged  by  high  officials  and  officers 
seeking  to  extort  their  pay  long  due ;  couriers  charged 
with  communications  of  the  highest  importance  lin- 
gered on  the  road  for  lack  of  means  to  continue  their 
journey.  Finance  was  reduced  to  tricks  of  low  deceit 
and  robbery.  Moneys  sent  to  private  individuals  from 
America  were  seized  and  appropriated;  the  value  of 
the  government  paper  fell  twenty-five  per  cent.;  coin 
was  debased  in  a  frightful  manner;  the  people  were 
forced  to  deliver  up  good  securities  in  exchange  for 
worthless  certificates;  churches  and  monasteries  were 
plundered  in  spite  of  the  rooted  bigotry,  and  taxes 
increased  so  fearfully  that  a  bushel  of  salt  rose  once 
from  thirty  or  forty  reals,  to  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
one  reals. 

The  idiocy  of  the  system  of  taxation  was  unpar- 
alleled. Even  in  1594  the  cortes  complained  that  the 
merchant,  out  of  every  one  thousand  ducats  capital, 
had  to  pay  three  hundred  ducats  in  taxes ;  that  no  ten- 
ant-farmer could  maintain  himself,  however  low  his  rent 
might  be ;  and  that  the  taxes  exceeded  the  income  of 
numerous  estates.  Bad  as  the  system  was  under  Philip 
II.,  it  became  worse  under  his  Austrian  successors. 
The  tax  upon  the  sale  of  food,  for  instance,  increased 
from  ten  to  fourteen  per  cent.  Looms  were  most  pro- 
ductive when  they  were  absolutely  silent.  Almost  the 
entire  household  arrangements  of  a  Spanish  family 
were  the  products  of  foreign  industries.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  the  seventeenth  century,  five-sixths  of  the  do- 
mestic and  nine-tenths  of  the  foreign  trade  were  in  the 


A  Rampant  Church, 


54^ 


o 


hands  of  aliens.  In  Castile,  alone,  there  were  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  thousand  foreigners^  who  had  gained 
complete  possession  of  the  industrial  and  manufactur- 
ing interests.  "  We  cannot  clothe  ourselves  without 
them,  for  we  have  neither  linen  nor  cloth  ;  we  cannot 
write  without  them,  for  we  have  no  paper,"  complains  a 
Spaniard.  Hence,  the  enormous  masses  of  gold  and 
silver  annually  transmitted  from  the  colonies  passed 
through  Spain  into  French,  English,  Italian,  and  Dutch 
pockets.  Not  a  real,  it  is  said,  of  the  thirty-five  mil- 
lions of  ducats  which  Spain  received  from  the  colonies 
in  1595,  was  found  in  Castile  the  following  year. 

In  this  indescribable  retrogression,  but  one  interest 
in  any  way  prospered  —  the  church.  The  more  agri- 
culture, industry,  trade  declined,  the  more  exclusively 
did  the  Catholic  clergy  monopolize  all  economic  and 
intellectual  life.  Innumerable  families  lived  on  the 
gifts  of  their  numerous  clerical  members.  One  son  at 
least,  out  of  every  burgher  and  peasant  family,  had  to 
be  immolated  to  the  church,  that  the  others  might  not 
actually  starve ;  at  least  one  daughter  was  doomed  to 
the  veil,  to  justify  her  relatives  in  asking  a  crust  at  the 
convent  refectory ;  and  the  father  himself,  gladly  united 
with  one  of  the  brotherhoods  for  his  self-preservation. 
Another  part  of  the  population  wandered  around  as 
servants,  among  the  palaces  of  the  grandees,  them- 
selves living  on  the  glories  of  an  irrecoverable  past  and 
the  favor  of  the  government.  In  many  provinces  there 
were  more  cut-purses,  smugglers,  and  beggars,  than  arti- 
sans. And  the  keener  the  distress,  the  more  the  people 
shrank  from  exerting  themselves,  and  the  more  power- 
ful became  the  tendencies  to  superstition  and  idleness. 


544 


Beign  of  Philip  III. 


Singularly  enough,  along  with  this  crushing  humilia- 
tion of  the  material  interests  of  Spain,  went  the  most 
brilliant  intellectual  development.     The  age  of  Philip 
II.,  of  Philip  III.,  and  Philip  IV.,  from  1550  to  1665, 
saw  an  astounding  multitude  of  poets,  historians,  dram- 
atists, artists,  spring  up  as  if  by  magic,  out  of  the  con- 
quest of  Granada,  the  Italian  campaigns,  and  the  mar- 
vellous deeds  of   the  conquerors  of  the  New  World. 
Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  (1503-36),  and  Hurtado  de  Men- 
doza  (1503-75), —  the  one  a   charming  ecloguist,  the 
other  an  elegant  historian  and  reputed  founder  of  the 
gtistfl   picaresco    in    Spain,  —  illustrated    the   reign    of 
Charles  V.     Then  followed,  in  the  early  part  of  his 
reign  and  in  the  next,  a  series  of  the  most  delightful 
chroniclers— Cortes,   Gomara,  the   charming   old  sol- 
dier Bernal  Diaz,  Oviedo,  Las  Casas  — telling  the  won- 
ders of  Mexico,  Peru,  and  the  Indian  islands,  fit  con- 
tinuers  of  the  glowing  narratives  of  Columbus.     More 
than   twent}'  poets,  many  of   distinguished   eminence, 
surrounded  Philip  II.     Here  find  a  place  the  eloquent 
religious  poet,   Fray  Luis  de  Leon  (1528-1591),  who 
spent  many  years  of  his  life  in  the  cells  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion ;   the  immortal   Castilian   Cervantes    (1547-1616), 
author  of  Don  Quixote,  Lope  de  Vega  (1562-1635), 
the  author  of  eighteen  hundred  plays  and  four  hundred 
autos,  which  were   so  popular  that  one  of  them  found 
its  way  to  the    seraglio    of    Constantinople;    and   the 
eminent,  religious,  and    didactic  prose-writer  Quevedo 
(i 580-1 645),  the  victim  of  the  cruelties  of  the  infamous 
Count  Duke  Olivares. 

Between  1588  and  1682  lived  and  labored  the  cele- 
brated Spanish  painters  Ribera,  Velazquez,  and 
Murillo. 


A  Literary  Age. 


545 


The  effect  of  removing  the  capital  to  Madrid  from 
1563,  stimulated  dramatic  art  especially,  caused  the  con- 
struction of  theatres,  and  gave  wide  scope  to  the  pecu- 
liar religious  representations  and  sacred  dramas  in 
which  the  Spanish  poets  delighted.  Calderon  de  la 
Barca  (i  600-1 681)  was  the  last  of  the  great  poets,  and 
like  Lope  entered  the  church. 

The  reign  of  Philip  IV.,  who  was  himself  a  poet, 
like  Jayme  of  Aragon,  was  the  most  fruitful  age  of 
Spanish  dramatic   literature.     It  would  require  pages 


LOPK  I)K  VK(4A. 

even  to  enumerate  the  lyric,  satirical,  elegiac,  pastoral, 
epigrammatic,  didactic,  and  descriptive  poets  of  the 
Austrian  era ;  the  graceful  ballad-writers,  with  the  uni- 
versal love  of  ballads ;  the  composers  of  romantic  fic- 
tion—  chivalrous,  pastoral,  humorous,  historical,  and 
serious ;  the  cultivators  of  forensic  eloquence,  and  cor- 
respondence ;    the   great    historians    (Zurita,    Morales, 


546 


Reign  of  Philip  11.  and  IIL 


Mariana,  Sandoval,  Herrera,  Argensola,  Solis) ;  the  di- 
dactic prose  writers,  and  the  dramatists. 

In  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  however,  all  this  radi- 
ance had  come  and  gone.  The  overthrow  of  institu- 
tions in  the  war  of  the  communeros  under  Charles  V., 
the  virtual  slavery  of  the  one  hundred  millions  of 
people  whom  Philip  II.  ground  under  the  iron  heel  of 
the  Inquisition,  the  stifling  incubus  of  Jesuit  rule,  the 
expulsion  of  the  six  hundred  thousand  Moriscoes,  the 
most  valuable  part  of  the  population,  under  Philip  III., 
the  seizure  of  Jamaica  by  the  English,  the  cession  of 
Roussillon  to  France,  and  the  independence  of  Portugal 
in  1640,  the  repudiation  of  much  of  the  public  debt, 
the  long  and  disastrous  minority  of  Charles  II.,  with 
the  deplorable  ruin  and  dilapidation  ensuing  ;  each  of 
these  things  was  a  step  downward  of  that  once  magnifi- 
cent House  of  Austria. 

The  disgraceful  credulity  of  the  Dark  Ages  was  revived 
in  the  spectacle  of  the  last  member  of  this  house  being 
exorcised  for  witchcraft. 

Insignificant  Portugal  triumphantly  maintaining  her- 
self against,  nay,  actually  invading,  the  universal  empire 
of  Spain  ;  Catalonia  in  successful  revolt  for  thirteen 
year-s  ;  milliards  of  reals  spent  on  the  subjugation  of 
the  Netherlands,  and  yet  Spain,  compelled  by  the  peace 
of  Westphalia,  in  1648,  to  recognize  their  independence 
and  the  equal  rights  of  heretics  in  Germany  ;  how  deep 
a  degradation  is  here  ! 

England  under  Cromwell,  France  under  Louis  XIV., 
were  meanwhile  contemporaneously  expanding,  grow- 
ing in  power ;  advancing  on  all  sides,  by  land  and  by 
sea,  at  the  expense  of  Spain.     Franche-Comte  fell  to 


JAR  MERCHANT,  MADRID. 


Decadence. 


549 


France  in  a  fortnight ;  the  strongest  fortresses  in  Cata- 
lonia capitulated  in  a  few  days.  The  most  warlike  of 
nations  had  in  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  transformed 
itself  into  the  feeblest,  the  most  indifferent  to  glory  and 
honor.  The  northern  provinces  under  Charles  II., 
were  defenceless  against  the  French,  and  the  South 
trembled  at  the  thought  of  a  second  barbarian  conquest 
from  Africa.  Raw  boys  and  gray-haired  weaklings 
formed  the  majority  in  the  Spanish  regiments.  Even 
under  Philip  II.  the  naval  power  had  gone  to  naught. 
Instead  of  developing  uninterruptedly,  hand  in  hand 
with  the  huge  colonial  system,  it  at  last  sank  to  thir- 
teen galleys,  seven  of  which  were  hired  from  Genoa ; 
the  art  of  ship-building  was  lost ;  the  magazines,  arse- 
nals, and  workshops  at  the  sea-ports,  stood  empty ;  and 
Italy,  France,  and  England,  furnished  the  hired  ships, 
to  bring  the  very  tobacco  from  Havana.  A  kingdom 
to  whose  very  existence  a  navy  was  indispensable, — 
whose  Netherlandish,  Italian,  and  colonial  possessions 
could  not  be  communicated  with  without  ships, — 
shamelessly  neglected  the  very  art  most  essential  to  its 
safety.  Its  trade  with  America  fell  into  the  hands  of 
foreigners.  Pirates  from  Barbary  were  the  terror  of 
the  Spanish  seas;  the  country  became  uninhabitable 
for  miles  inland  along  the  Mediterranean ;  filibusters 
ravaged  the  transatlantic  colonies ;  under  Charles  II., 
Cuba,  St.  Domingo,  Nicaragua,  and  New  Granada,  year 
in  year  out,  were  plundered  by  them ;  the  great  city  of 
Carthagena  was  subdued,  and  Vera  Cruz  surprised  and 

burned. 

This  brief  sketch  may  serve  to  show  how  profoundly 
Spain  had  sunk  in  the  two  centuries  of  Habsburg  rule. 


550 


Reign  of  Philip  IL  and  II L 


It  lay  a  corpse,  over  which  hovered  the  vulture  of  the 
House  of  Austria  —  not  an  emblem  of  victory,  but  a 
symbol  of  death. 

The  reign  of  Philip  III.  is  pitiably  deficient  in  inter- 
est. His  accession  to  power  was  at  once  signalized  by 
the  transference  of  the  reins  of  government  to  the 
hands  of  the  favorite,  the  Duke  of  Lerma,  in  terror  of 
whom  and  his  formidable  wife,  Philip  and  his  queen 
lived  for  many  years.  Philip  was  so  weak,  that  when  look- 
ing over  the  portraits  of  all  the  daughters  of  the  Arch- 
duke Charles,  that  he  might  select  his  future  wife  from 
among  them,  he  alleged,  that  the  princess  who  should 
meet  with  his  father's  approbation,  would  be  the  most 
beautiful  in  his  eyes— a  filial  excellence  altogether 
admirable,  had  it  shown  anything  but  the  most  abject 
dread  in  which  he  lived  towards  the  terrible  Philip  II. 

The  death  of  Elizabeth  of  England  in  1603,  deprived 
the  Netherlands  of  their  mightiest  ally,  and  left  them  at 
the  tender  mercies  of  James  I.,  who  abhorred  support- 
ing revolted  subjects  against  their  sovereign  under  any 
circumstances.  The  United  Provinces,  however,  were 
now  acknowledged  as  independent  by  all  countries 
except  Spain.  In  1602  they  had  established  the  first 
East  India  Company ;  their  resources  were  inexhaust- 
ible, and  the  Dutch  fleets  filled  the  treasury  with  the 
spoils  of  the  Spanish  treasure-ships.  The  treaty  of 
Antwerp,  in  1609,  secured  the  acknowledgment  of  the 
admission  of  the  United  Provinces  into  the  European 
commonwealth. 

Gentle  and  humane  as  Philip  was,  his  bigotry  got  the 
better  of  him  in  his  expulsion  of  the  Moriscoes  —  bap- 
tized though  recreant  infidels  —  from  their  native  land 


The  Moriscoes, 


551 


to  Africa.  Two  archbishops  urged  their  complete  ex- 
tirpation from  the  soil  of  Spain.  They  had  settled  in 
Valencia  in  thousands,  and  were  much  the  most  desir- 
able part  of  the  population,  being  skilled  artisans,  agri- 
cultural laborers,  miners,  and  manufacturers.  As  a 
last  insult  to  them,  it  was  proposed  that  six  families  in 
every  hundred  should  be  detained  temporarily  by  the 
lords  to  whom  they  were  vassals,  in  order  that  they 
might  teach  the  Christian  inhabitants  the  management 
of  the  drains,  aqueducts,  irrigating  canals,  rice  planta- 
tions, and  sugar  works,  which  had  been  almost  exclu- 
sively in  the  hands  of  these  descendants  of  the  Moors. 
From  six  hundred  thousand  to  one  million  of  the  most 
industrious  and  ingenious  subjects  of  Spain  were  cru- 
elly torn  from  their  homes,  and  transported  to  Africa, 
where  thousands  of  them,  as  in  the  earlier  case  of  the 
Jews  of  the  fifteenth  century,  were  plundered  or  perished. 
One  hundred  thousand  are  reputed  to  have  perished 
within  a  few  months  of  their  expulsion  from  Valencia. 

Lerma  enormously  increased  the  tax  on  the  necessa- 
ries of  life ;  the  internal  prosperity  of  the  country  re- 
ceived its  death-blow  by  this  emigration ;  the  mal-ad- 
ministration  of  the  favorite  exasperated  the  people  ;  a 
prime  minister  had  been  so  long  unknown  in  Spain,  that 
whatever  he  did  was  regarded  with  suspicion  ;  and  his 
elevation  of  Rodrigo  de  Calderon,  a  menial  in  his 
household,  to  the  position  of  favorite's  favorite,  put  the 
climax  to  the  discontent. 

Spain  and  Austria  were  rescued,  in  16 10,  from  the 
impending  danger  of  a  confederation  organized  against 
them  on  the  part  of  Henry  IV.,  by  the  dagger  of  Ravail- 
lac.     The  illustrious  kins:  fell  a  victim  to  assassination. 


552 


Reig7i  of  Philip  III. 


In   1613,  Philip  became  involved  in  the  eternal  dis 
putes  and  hostilities  of  the  Italian  princes  of  Mantua 
and  Savoy.     His  interests  there  were  represented  by 
Villa  Franca,  governor  of  Milan,  Bedmar,  ambassador 
to  Venice,  and  the  duke  of  Ossuna,  viceroy  of  Naples. 

Bedmar's  indignation  with  Venice,  resulted  in  the  con- 
spiracy immortalized  in  Otway's  "Venice  Preserved." 
Ossuna  won  himself  a  fantastic  celebrity  under  Philip 


.^■^'''■^ 


Philip  III. 

IL,  by  so  extravagantly  executing  the  king's  order  to 
send  corn  from  Naples  to  Spain  that  he  "produced 
plenty  in  Spain  and  famine  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples." 
Suspected  of  the  desire  to  convert  Naples  into  an  inde- 
pendent principality  for  himself,  he  was  recalled  and 

disgraced. 

Philip's  affection  for  his  all-powerful  minister  gradu- 


A  Bigot  and  Voluptuary, 


553 


ally  chilled,  more  especially  when  by  one  of  the  theat- 
rical incongruities  of  the  Spanish  church  system,  Ler- 
ma  succeeded  in  donning  a  cardinal's  hat,  and  Philip 
came  to  regard  him  with  reverential  awe  and  dread. 
The  cardinal-duke  vigorously  opposed  being  degraded, 
but  was  forced  to  retire  to  a  country-seat  in  1618, 
whilst  his  arrogant  favorite  was  arrested.  The  last 
years  of  Philip's  life  resound  with  echoes  from  Ger- 
many, where  the  Thirty  Years'  War  had  broken  out.  He 
is  said  to  have  died  broken-hearted  over  the  discovery 
of  the  unfortunate  condition  into  which  Spain  had 
fallen,  and  his  own  helplessness  to  aid  her.  A  pro- 
found melancholy  preyed  upon  him,  and  though  Spain 
still  retained  possession  of^the  Duchy  of  Milan,  the 
kingdoms  of  Naples,  Sicily,  and  Sardinia,  and  the  for- 
tresses on  the  African  coast,  her  state  seemed  to  him 
hopeless,  and  he  died  (1621)  "a  curse  to  the  nation  he 
governed." 

One  of  his  daugjiters  had  married  the  king  of  France, 
another  became  queen  of  Hungary.  Of  his  three 
sons,  Philip,  Carlos,  and  Ferdinand,  cardinal  arch- 
bishop of  Toledo,  the  first  succeeded  him  as  Philip  IV., 
(1621-1665). 

The  life  of  Philip  IV.,  lasted  sixty  years,  forty-four 
of  which  were  passed  in  the  cares  and  responsibilities 
of  royalty.  Almost  uninterrupted  war  kept  his  long 
reign  in  a  ripple  of  excitement  from  its  beginning  to  its 
close.  A  bigot  and  a  voluptuary,  "  Philip  the  Great,"  as 
Spanish  adulation  dubbed  him,  soon  left  the  duties  of  a 
sovereign  to  the  favorite  Olivares,  the  count-duke  of 
the  great  family  of  the  Guzmans.  Olivares  began  by 
fining  Lerma  for  malversation,  executing  Calderon  for 


554 


Reign  of  Philip  I V. 


a  murder  of  which  he  was  believed  innocent,  and  throw- 
ing Ossuna  into  prison,  where  he  died  of  disease.  He 
renewed  war  with  the  United  Provinces,  sought  the  alli- 
ance of  the  emperor,  and  prevented  England  from  inter- 
fering in  behalf  of  the  Palatinate  by  his  project  of  a 
marriage  between  the  prince  of  Wales  and  the  Infanta. 
Both  in  the  Indian  and  American  seas,  however,  the 
fleets  of  the  Netherlands  rode  triumphant,  plundering 
treasure-ships,  subduing  the  greater  part  of  the  Portu- 
guese empire  in  India  and  Brazil,  sacking  Lima  in  Peru, 
taking  possession  of  several  of  the  West  Indian  island, 
and  presenting  the  spectacle  of  a  handful  of  half-sub- 
merged amphibii  baffling  the  once  boundless  resources  of 
the  united  Spanish  empire.^ 

The  romantic  visit  of  Charles,  prince  of  Wales,  sec- 
onded by  the  brilliant  and  volatile  duke  of  Bucking- 
ham, charmed  the  stately  Spaniards  by  its  gallantry : 
but  a  quarrel  between  Buckingham  and  Olivares,  and 
the  undisguised  licentiousness  of  Ch^les's  companion, 
brought  the  negotiation  to  an  end,  and  Charles  ended 
by  marrying  Henrietta  of  Orleans,  daughter  of  Henry 
IV.  of  France,  and  leaving  the  Infanta  to  be  wedded 
later  to  the  emperor's  eldest  son,  afterwards  Ferdinand 
HI. 

The  count-duke  first  meddled  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Milanese,  then  in  an  Italian  war  originating  in  the  dis- 
puted succession  of  the  duchy  of  Mantua,  then  in  the 
Dutch  and  German  wars,  assisting  the  emperor  against 
Gustavus  Adolphus  of  Sweden.  In  his  Dutch  intrigues 
he  was  no  match  for  the  accomplished  and  subtle  Rich- 
elieu, prime  minister  of  France,  whom  the  reduction  of 
the  Huguenots,  in  1635,  left  ample  leisure  to  prepare 


.:; 


U.fS^uMJft. 


WANDERING  MUSICIANS. 


An  Ins U7' red  1071. 


557 


for  and  declare  war  against  Spain  on  account  of  an  at- 
tack by  a  Spanish  army  on  the  archbishop  of  Treves. 
Spain  was  signally  successful  in  expelling  the  united  in- 
vading armies  of  France  and  Holland  from  the  Nether- 
lands :  on  the  Pyreneean  frontier  mutual  invasions  took 
place,  with  varying  success.  A  fierce  insurrection  of 
the  Catalans,  due  to  the  infraction  of  one  of    their  im- 


Olivares. 

memorial  privileges,  in  1640,  kept  the  whole  of  the 
Spanish  forces  at  bay  for  thirteen  years,  —  an  insurrec- 
tion occasioned  by  the  tyranny  of  Olivares.  Catalonia 
proclaimed  itself  a  republic  and  claimed  the  protection 
of  France;  but  the  rebellion  was  subdued  in  1652  by 
Don  Juan,  the  king's  natural  son,  after  a  fifteen  months' 


^iA*.ja^S15ii5»irtS?Sa®&&'S^-S'K 


;^^.^,-'.i»^.ft-^^«SS^S«^3S 


658 


Reign  of  Philip  1 V. 


m- 


siege  of  Barcelona.  The  privileges  of  Catalonia  — 
almost  the  last  relics  of  Spanish  liberty,— were  ruth- 
lessly destroyed,  and  a  monarchy  as  absolute  as  that  of 
Turkey  rose  upon  their  foundations.  In  1640-64  Por- 
tugal threw  off  the  yoke  and  proclaimed  king  the  duke 
of  Braganza  as  Joa  IV.,  the  legitimate  descendant  and 
fepresentative  of  her  ancient  sovereigns.  The  abject 
impotence  of  Olivares  and  his  minions  was  never  more 
emphatically  displayed  than  in  this  memorable  transac- 
tion, the  result  of  which  he  jocularly  communicated  to 
the  king  as  follows :  "  The  duke  of  Braganza  has  run 
stark  mad ;  he  has  proclaimed  himself  king  of  Portu- 
gal. This  folly  will  bring  your  majesty  twelve  millions 
in  confiscations !  " 

France  meanwhile  had  overrun  the  Netherlands; 
Prince  Maurice  took  Breda;  the. superb  military  genius 
of  Gustavus  Adolphus  brought  Ferdinand  to  the  brink 
of  ruin  in  Germany,  and  was  thwarted  only  by  the  ex- 
traordinary talents  of  Wallenstein,  whom  Schiller  has 
immortalized;  Gustavus,  however,  fell  heroically  at 
Lutzen,  and  Wallenstein  was  basely  murdered  at  the 
instigation  of  Ferdinand. 

Cardinal  Richelieu's  turbulent  career  closed  in  1642, 
but  his  Machiavellian  slippers  were  an  exact  fit  for  his 
successor,  Mazarin.  The  great  Conde  was  at  the  head  of 
the  French  armies  during  the  regency  of  Anne  of  Austria, 
and  carried  off  the  glorious  victory  of  Rocroi  over  the 
Spaniards  and  Walloons,  —  a  victory  of  mournful  augury 
for  the  Spanish  sovereignty  in  the  Netherlands. 

Though  Olivares  had  accomplished  some  good  by  re- 
voking the  profuse  grants  of  previous  sovereigns,  intro- 
ducing sumptuary  regulations,  turning  out   "  two-thirds 


m 


Netherland  Independence, 


659 


of  the  locusts  in  office,"  and  increasing  the  revenues  of 
the  crown,  his  principle  was  self-adoration  and  personal 
aggrandizement.  Agriculture,  commerce,  mechanical 
arts,  declined  pitiably  under  the  profligate  extravagan- 
ces of  the  court.  A  conspiracy  of  weaklings  and 
women,  headed  by  the  queen  and  the  duchess  of  Mantua, 
wrought  his  ruin  ;  and  Olivares  was  exiled.  In  1646 
Massaniello's  outburst  at  Naples  came  near  costing 
Spain  the  loss  of  her  Neapolitan  dominions.  He  was 
a  fisherman  whose  wife  had  been  insulted,  and  who,  in- 
citing a  rebellion,  overpowered  the  viceroy  and  for  ten 
days  ruled  despotically  over  Naples. 

The  final  peace  with  the  Netherlands  in  1648  secured' 
to  this  long-suffering  land  the  blessings  of  independence, 
—  acknowledged  even  by  Spain,  —  and  the  retention 
of  its  conquests  at  home  and  in  the  West  Indies.  Dun- 
kirk was  taken  with  England's  aid,  then  under  the  pow- 
erful administration  of  Cromwell;  and  the  English 
wrested  Jamaica  from  Spain  as  a  further  drop  in  the 
bitter  cup  of  humiliation.  But  the  difficulties  between 
France  and  Spain  were  aided  by  Anne's  affection  for 
her  brother,  smoothed  away  by  the  celebrated  treaty  of 
the  Pyrenees,  in  1659,  and  a  marriage :  Louis  XI V^ 
was  united  with  Philip's  daughter,  Maria  Theresa,  who 
renounced  her  rights  to  the  Spanish  crown  as  the  eld- 
est daughter  of  Philip's  first  wife.  By  the  treaty  Spain 
ceded  Roussillon  and  Artois  to  France,  —  a  further  dis- 
memberment, —  and  France  evacuated  all  her  conquests 
in  Catalonia  and  elsewhere.  The  English  war  ceased 
with  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.  The  Portuguese 
war  alone  dragged  interminably  along,  till  the  effective 
battle  of  Villaviciosa,  lost  by  the  Spaniards;  after  which 


^  ,,iLi'U™^*.jaiSfe&w^^^**6S« 


i,^&^^iM^iS^^SI^i^ 


560 


Reicjn  of  Charles  12. 


there  is  the  dramatic  scene  of  Philip's  receiving  the 
tidings  of  the  defeat,  ejaculating,  "It  is  the  will  of 
God  !. "  and  swooning  away. 

This  defeat  was  his  finishing  blow,  for  he  died  shortly 
afterwards  (1665),  leaving  the  morbid  hypochondriac 
Charles  II.,  as  a  three-year-old  legacy  to  the  nation. 
His  queen,  assisted  by  a  j'lmfa,  was  named  regent. 
Of  Philip  it  has  been  aptly  said  that  his  reign  was,  next 
to  that  of  Roderic,  the  most  disastrous  in  the  annals  of 
Spain.  His  life  was  a  series  of  monumental  failures 
on  which  were  inscribed  in  characters  of  wormwood 
and  flame  :  Catalonia,  Roussillon,  Jamaica,  the  Nether- 
lands, Portugal. 

He  had  several  mistresses  and  numerous  descendants 
by  them,  but  of  the  children  of  his  two  lawful  wives, 
the  queen  of  France,  Margaret  of  Hungary,  and  Don 
Carlos  (Charles  II.),  alone  survived  him. 

The  next  reign  was  inaugurated  by  a  weak  and  jeal- 
ous  queen-dowager,    who   was    wholly  governed   by  a 
German  Jesuit.      This  man  was  the  inquisitor-general 
Nitard,  who  was  hated  by  the  nobles  as  an  interloper, 
and  more  especially  by  the  high-born  and  spirited  Don 
Juan.      Hence  the  beginning  of  a  long  period  of  in- 
trigue and  orgy  which  harassed  the  whole  of  Charles's 
reign.     Louis  XIV.  began  to  develop  his   passion  for 
conquest  at  the  expense  of  his  infant  brother-in-law  by 
attempting,  contrary  to  all  justice,  to  overrun  the  Neth- 
erlands.    His  dream  of  universal  empire  was,  however, 
brief,  for  the  Triple  Alliance  between  England,  the  Unit- 
ed Provinces,  and  Sweden,  stayed  his  ambitious  aspira- 
tions.    He  restored  to  Spain,  by  the  treaty  of  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  in  1668,  most  of  his  recent  acquisitions.     Don 


''"^:^. 


^k 


^c<S? 


ROMAN  BRIDGE  AT  RONDA. 


I 


M 


Charles  11. 


563 


Juan,  supported  by  a  powerful  faction  of  nobles,  secured 
the  honorable  dismissal  of  the  Jesuit,  who  was  sent  off 
to  Rome  as  ambassador,  and  obtained  a  cardinal's  hat 
by  the  queen's  influence.  Don  Juan  was  made  viceroy 
of  Aragon,  and  another  favorite  —  this  time  a  specious, 
handsome,  and  agreeable  page  of  the  duke  of  In- 
fantado,  Fernando  de  Valenzuelo  —  took  the  Jesuit 
father's  place.  A  lover  of  bull-fights  and  courter  of 
popular  favor,  it  was  whispered  that  his  connection  with 
his  royal  mistress  —  now  o^'er  forty  —  was  dishonora- 
ble. During  his  administration  the  United  Provinces 
were  in  1672  reduced  almost  to  despair  by  the  odious 
machinations  of  Louis,  who,  having  detached  Sweden 
and  England  from  the  Triple  Alliance,  rapidly  overran 
the  country  The  savior  of  Dutch  independence  then 
rose,  —  William  of  Orange  (afterwards  king  of  Eng- 
land), —  who,  elected  Stadtholder  (the  chief  magistracy  of 
the  Seven  Provinces),  stemmed,  in  conjunction  with 
Spain  and  Germany,  the  tide  of  Louis's  successes.  The 
active-minded  Grand  Monarque  made  incursions  into 
Catalonia,  incited  rebellion  in  Sicily,  and  further  devas- 
tated the  Netherlands. 

On  the  completion  of  his  fourteenth  year,  —  the 
majority  prescribed  by  Spanish  law,  —  Charles  II.,  in 
1675,  began  to  govern  in  his  own  right.  Tied  to  his 
mother's  apron-strings  and  overawed  by  his  uncle,  the 
stormy-tempered  Don  Juan,  who  had  now  (1676)  man- 
aged to  get  Valenzuelo  banished  to  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands, the  wretched  Charles  had  not  force  enough  to 
say  that  his  soul  was  his  own.  His  debilitated  mon- 
archy sank  a  step  lower  at  the  treaty  of  Nimwegen,  in 
1678,  between  France  and  the  other  European  powers. 


564 


Reigyi  of  Charles  IL 


Philip  of  Anjou, 


565 


by  which  Louis  retained  Franche-Comte,  formerly  the 
county  of  Burgundy  (till  then  one  of  the  Nccherland 
provinces).     The  death  of  Don  Juan,  in  1679,  saw  the 
last  glimmer  of  genius  in  the  Spanish-Austrian  branch 
go  out.     He  had  alienated  the  king's  affections  by  his 
harshness  to  the  queen-mother ;  had  seen  his  intended 
reforms  and   improvements   in   agriculture,  commerce, 
and  finance  brought  to  naught,  and  his  popularity  lost 
by  his  rigor  in  punishing  peculation,  signing  a  disad- 
vantageous  treaty,    and    arranging   a   match    between 
Charles  and  the  niece  of  the  abhorred  Louis  XIV.     In- 
ternally  Spain   was   rapidly  becoming   a  wreck.     The 
nation  was  on  the  brink  of   insolvency,  owing  to   the 
ignorant  and    incongruous    laws  regulating  commerce, 
the  adulteration  of  the  precious  metals,  the  shameless- 
ness  of  official  life,  the  fires,  overflows,  and  storms  that 
ravaged  the  land,  the  destruction  of  the  ships  in  port, 
the  unproductiveness  of  the  tempest-beaten  corn-fields, 
and  the  loss  of  life  and  property  at  Seville  in  an  inunda- 
tion.   Transatlantic  disputes  with  Portugal  about  bound- 
ary lines  in  Brazil ;    another  invasion  of  Catalonia  by 
Louis,  in  1689;  the  French  bombardment  of  Barcelona 
and  Alicante  by  sea  ;  the  capture  of  Barcelona  by  Ven- 
dome  ;  the  succession  to  power  of  one  incapable  prime- 
minister  after  another,  to  stay  the  anarchy  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  endeavor  to  hold  up  the  hands  of  a  trem- 
bling monarch  who  believed  himself  bewitched,— all  this 
grating  and  hideous  discord  was  relieved  by  the  suave 
harmonies  of  the  Peace  of  Ryswick,  in  1697,  by  which 
Louis  unexpectedly  restored  to  Spain  all  his  conquests. 
So  dramatic  a  magnanimity  had  its  deep-lying  cause. 
Charles's  known  impotence,  even  after  his  second  mar- 


riage with  Marianne  of  Neuburg,  left  the  Spanish 
throne  open  to  the  French  line  by  virtue  of  Louis's 
marriage  with  Maria  Theresa,  eldest  daughter  of  Philip 

IV.  There  were  several  candidates,  the  most  formida- 
ble of  whom  was  the  Dauphin  of  France,  as  Maria  The- 
resa's eldest  son ;  then  the  Emperor  Leopold,  whose 
mother  was  the  daughter  of  Philip  III.,  and  who  was 
further  descended  from  Ferdinand,  brother  of  Charles 

V.  ;  and  lastly,  the  electoral  prince  of  Bavaria,  whose 
mother  was  a  daughter  of  Philip  IV. 

The  dauphin's  pretensions  were  vitiated  by  his  moth- 
er's solemn  renunciation  of  all  claim  to  the  crown  of 
Spain  for  her  issue,  for  fear  that  the  two  kingdoms 
might  come  to  be  united  in  one  head,  and  thus  imperil 
the  European  balance.  But  renouncing  so  noble  an 
inheritance  was  no  part  of  Louis's  ambitious  projects : 
there  was  the  duke  of  Anjou,  Philip,  his  grandson,  who 
would  occasion  less  apprehension  to  Europe.  The  im- 
possibility, also,  of  ever  again  uniting  Germany  and 
Spain,  brought  Leopold  to  renounce  his  expectations  in 
favor  of  his  second  son,  the  archduke  Charles. 

Hence  the  dismal  death-bed  of  Charles  II.,  surround- 
ed as  it  was  by  the  spirits  of  moping  melancholy,  men- 
tal feebleness,  and  triumphant  superstition,  became  a. 
focus  whence  radiated  innumerable  threads  of  intrigue 
across  the  Pyrenees  and  into  the  forests  of  Germany. 
Charles  himself  clung  to  his  Austrian  kin ;  the  queen 
supported  the  archduke  ;  the  queen-mother,  the  prince 
of  Bavaria.  But  the  skilful  manipulations  of  Louis's 
ambassador,  the  Marquis  d'Harcourt,  eventually  turned 
the  tables  in  favor  of  Philip  of  Anjou,  though  Charles 
had  previously  left  his  dominions  by  will  to  the  electo- 


II 


-ffljS^j™SW?#«!=Si,gS*^^^«*^ 


56Q 


Reign  of  Charles  II, 


mm 


ral  prince.  A  sudden  death  put  an  end  to  the  candi- 
dacy of  the  Bavarian.  The  dying  king,  left  much  with 
his  confessor,  who  was  bribed  by  Louis,  turned  more 
and  more  towards  France,  particularly  as  Pope  Irmo- 
cent  XII.  recommended  the  selection  of  the  duke  of 
Anjou,  on  condition  of  his  solemnly  giving  up  his 
French  expectations.  In  October,  1700,  after  a  long 
and  bitter  struggle,  Charles,  therefore,  signed  a  will  in 
favor  of  Philip,  and  leaving  Spain  in  the  very  extremi- 
ties of  exhaustion  and  embarrassment,  expired  in  No- 
vember, 1700. 

To  the  belief  almost  universally  given  to  astrology 
and  the  black  arts  in  Spain,  at  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  the  deeply  religious  king  was  no  excep- 
tion. He  believed  himself  overshadowed  by  some 
awful  influence  of  evil,  and  descended  to  practices  at 
which  one  can  but  smile  or  weep.  Pursuing  that  loath- 
some curiosity  concerning  things  forbidden  which  was 
hereditary  in  his  house,  he  descended  into  the  clammy 
vaults  of  the  pantheon  of  the  Escorial,  to  visit  the 
corpses  of  his  ancestors.  One  after  another  he  had 
their  coffins  opened,  gazed  at  their  decomposed  counte- 
nances, and  hung  with  shuddering  intensity  over  the 
ghastly  reminiscences  of  mortality,  till,  penetrated  with 
horror  and  chilled  with  cold,  he  fled  from  their  pres- 
ence, and,  it  is  supposed,  hastened  his  near  end  by  the 
emotion  caused  by  this  revolting  scene. 


t 


,,,,^.a.s.,.«i~#.»fc»i-aa««***J"'*»^^^      »«in«i«  '-tisisgagaa 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

FROM  THE  ACCESSION  OF  THE  BOURBONS  TO  THE 
FRENCH  REVOLUTION   (1700-1788). 

REIGNS    OF    PHILIP    V.,    FERDINAND    VI.,    AND 

CHARLES  IH. 

IT  was  probably  a  great  blessing  for  Spain  that  from 
the  bloody  War  of  the  Succession  (1700-13)  a 
Bourbon,  and  not  a  Habsburger  had  come  forth  victor. 
Philip  V.  was  in  some  sense  a  rejuvenation,  a  personi- 
fication of  the  lost  youth  of  Spain,  the  upholder  of  a 
new  system  of  government,  a  new  scheme  of  adminis- 
tration, and  a  new  mode  of  warfare.  The  measures 
and  principles  which  had  raised  France  under  Colbert 
and  Richelieu  to  the  most  brilliant  of  European  ascen- 
dencies—  the  vigorous  and  stirring  initiative  of  a 
united  government,  the  promotion  of  trade  and  com- 
merce, the  unsparing  abolition  of  abuses,  in  however 
limited  a  manner  employed  by  him,  at  least  brought 
Spain  from  its  stagnant  condition,  opened  a  period  of 
reform,  and  launched  the  country,  under  Ferdinand  VI. 
and  Charles  III.,  on  a  career  of  comparative  prosperity. 
Philip's  task  was  a  difficult  one ;  the  absolute  crea- 
tion of  an  army  and  navy,  a  police,  finances,  legislation. 
It  became  indispensable  to  employ  foreigners  in  nearly 
every  branch  of  the  government,   at  the  head  of  the 

569 


>Aar^'re>??^r»'^R!rf?^»5K  ■;SE>!SBa5*^^!S^-S 


m.^£m«iii£»^fi^^ 


570 


Spam  under  Philip   Fl 


A  Stimulating  Reign, 


671 


army,  and  in  the  council-chamber.  The  abolition  of 
the  special  privileges  of  Aragon,  already  so  rudely 
shaken  under  Philip  II.,  and  the  ensuing  partial  equali- 
zation through  the  provinces,  of  contributions  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  government,  threw  down  the  wall 
which  for  ages  had  separated  and  antagonized  Castile 
and  Aragon.  The  absolute  dominion  of  the  king  over 
the  whole  land,  was  felt  not  only  in  levying  and  increas- 
ing taxes,  and  in  reforming  the  laws,  but  in  stimulating 
scientific  research  ;  which  had  hitherto  been  unknown  to 
Spaniards.  "  There  was  nothing  in  Newton  that  could 
make  one  a  better  logician  or  metaphysician,  and  the 
teachings  of  Aristotle  were  more  in  conformity  with 
revealed  truth  than  those  of  Gassendi/'  was  a  boast  of 
one  of  their  savants. 

Europe  saw  with  amazement,  Spain — benumbed, 
motionless,  dead  —  giving  evidence  of  a  life  and  per- 
sistency, a  patience  and  inflexibility,  under  exhausting 
trial,  which,  even  though  accompanied  by  the  loss  of 
her  Dutch  and  Italian  possessions  through  the  peace  of 
Utrecht  (17 13),  showed  her  in  a  light  more  favorable 
than  for  many  years  before. 

A  conflict  with  the  church  —  that  incarnation  of  bound- 
less idleness,  stupendous  superstition,  and  monstrous 
ignorance  that  in  the  midst  of  the  ruin  of  the  nation 
possessed  enormous  wealth,  meddled  with  the  palace, 
the  university,  and  the  school  alike,  and  ate  out  the 
very  vitals  of  the  country  —  began,  and  was  so  success- 
ful that  the  pretensions  of  the  Roman  See  were  clipped, 
the  Spanish  church  even  largely  emancipated  from 
Rome,  and  the  very  Inquisition  menaced.  Unfortu- 
nately Philip  fell  under  the  influence  of  an  Italian  wife 


—  Isabella  Farnese ;  he  lapsed  into  the  usual  stupor 
and  indifference  of  Spanish  kings  ;  and  all  the  pictur- 
esque stir  and  movement  of  the  War  of  the  Succession 
seemed  to  go  out  of  his  gloom-smitten  life,  leaving  the 
Inquisition  and  the  ancient  abuses  for  the  time  trium- 
phant. Injurious  interference  with  Italian  politics  en- 
sued as  soon  as  the  king^  felt  himself  strons"  enoupfh ; 
Naples  and  Parma  were  reconquered,  but  at  an  extraor- 
dinary sacrifice  of  men  and  means. 

A  few  figures  will  be  pregnant  interpreters  of  the 
Spanish  art  of  governing.  An  annual  income  before 
the  Italian  wars,  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  million 
reals,  sank  to  two  hundred  and  eleven  millions,  against 
an  annual  expenditure  of  three  hundred  and  thirty-six 
millions,  payments  on  the  public  debt  being  excluded. 
The  government  was  carried  on  at  an  expense  of  seven- 
teen and  one-half  millions,  while  the  court  swallowed 
thirty-seven  millions,  and  the  fleet  and  army,  two  hundred 
and  thirty-five  millions.     A  theatrical  Italian  campaign 

—  an  imposing  court  full  of  spangled  grandees  —  were 
the  main  amusement  of  the  controlling  classes ;  justice, 
security,  culture,  material  welfare,  were  contemptible 
secondary  considerations. 

Still,  Philip's  reign  of  forty-six  years  gave  a  very 
varied  stimulus  to  the  Spanish  people.  If  the  old  and 
immemorial  was  not  absolutely  laid  aside,  it  was 
undermined ;  innovation  became  practicable ;  inquiry 
was  made  whether  this  state  of  permanent  crusade,  of 
general  beggary  and  vagabondage,  of  callous  supersti- 
tion, of  idolatrous  reverence  for  the  church,  was  really 
leading  to  anything;  whether  the  fashion  of  the  uni- 
verse, or  the  fashion  of  Spain,  was  the  more  likely  to 


utiCirKKwutmiiimfem 


572 


Spain  under  Philip    V, 


be  correct.  A  gleam  of  doubt  as  to  the  infallibility  of 
Spanish  methods  and  Spanish  traditions  timidly  pene- 
trated the  chinks  of  the  Pyrenees.  Contempt  for  what 
was  foreign,  absolute  exclusion  from  the  outside  world, 
had  been  hitherto  the  mainspring  of  political  life.  The 
misery  and  humiliation  of  Charles  II.'s  reign  had  failed 
to  rouse  the  inquiry  whether  Spain  could  profit  by  the 
lessons  of  other  lands ;  it  was  left  to  a  stranger  to 
mount  the  throne  and  make  foreign  example  beneficial 
to  this  benighted  people. 

Of   course    such  a  revolution   of  ancient  modes   of 
thought  went  on  with  painful  slowness,  as  it  must  do 
in   descending   from  the  upper  to  the    lower  classes. 
The  church  still  fattened ;  the  cloisters  grew ;  ecclesi- 
astical authority  was  profoundly  reverenced ;  the  most 
important   of    Philip's   ministers,   Patino,  had  been    a 
Jesuit;    and   the    state   was   still    a   secondary   affair. 
But  Philip  kept  up   his  intimacy  with  the  enlightened 
Macanaz,  who  had  fled  abroad  from  the  clutches  of  the 
Inquisition ;  he  founded  the  great  academy  which  has 
done  so  much  for  Spanish  literature  and  lexicography ; 
and  he  encouraged  foreign  artists,  scholars,  and  manu- 
facturers to  settle  in  Spain,  while  sending  some  of  his 
own   subjects  abroad   to   study.     Spanish   science  no 
longer  remained  a  contradiction  in  terms.     Imaginative 
tendencies  like  those  embodied  in  the  multitudinous 
fancies  of  Lope  and  Calderon,  now  exhaled  in  the  cold, 
clear  light  of  eighteenth  century  criticism  :    the  frost 
of  innumerable  Boileaus  lay  on  that  century.     Realities 
emerged  out  of  that  confused   and  complex  state  in 
which,  hitherto,  feeling,  passion,  subjectivity,  declama- 
tion had  given  the  tone  to  Spanish  art  and  poetry ;  and 


572 


Spain  under  Fhilip    V, 


liii'^. 


be  correct.  A  gleam  of  doubt  as  to  the  infallibility  of 
Spanish  methods  and  Spanish  traditions  timidly  pene- 
trated the  chinks  of  the  Pyrenees.  Contempt  for  what 
was  foreign,  absolute  exclusion  from  the  outside  world, 
had  been  hitherto  the  mainspring  of  political  life.  The 
misery  and  humiliation  of  Charles  II.'s  reign  had  failed 
to  rouse  the  inquiry  whether  Spain  could  profit  by  the 
lessons  of  other  lands ;  it  was  left  to  a  stranger  to 
mount  the  throne  and  make  foreign  example  beneficial 
to  this  benighted  people. 

Of   course   such  a  revolution   of  ancient  modes   of 
thought  went  on  with  painful  slowness,  as  it  must  do 
in   descending   from  the  upper  to  the    lower  classes. 
The  church  still  fattened ;  the  cloisters  grew ;  ecclesi- 
astical authority  was  profoundly  reverenced  ;  the  most 
important   of    Philip's   ministers,   Patino,  had  been    a 
Jesuit;    and    the    state   was    still    a   secondary   affair. 
But  Philip  kept  up   his  intimacy  with  the  enlightened 
Macanaz,  who  had  fled  abroad  from  the  clutches  of  the 
Inquisition;  he  founded  the  great  academy  which  has 
done  so  much  for  Spanish  literature  and  lexicography ; 
and  he  encouraged  foreign  artists,  scholars,  and  manu- 
facturers to  settle  in  Spain,  while  sending  some  of  his 
own   subjects  abroad   to   study.     Spanish   science  no 
longer  remained  a  contradiction  in  terms.     Imaginative 
tendencies  like  those  embodied   in  the  multitudinous 
fancies  of  Lope  and  Calderon,  now  exhaled  in  the  cold, 
clear  light  of  eighteenth  century  criticism  :    the   frost 
of  innumerable  Boileaus  lay  on  that  century.     Realities 
emerged  out  of  that  confused  and  complex  state  in 
which,  hitherto,  feeling,  passion,  subjectivity,  declama- 
tion had  given  the  tone  to  Spanish  art  and  poetry ;  and 


A      liL,l^-^l        ^^.i.       J-AfL^^, 


Seeds  of  Reform. 


575 


Spain  seemed  gradually  to  recover  her  consciousness  of 
the  world  of  fact.  Scientific  criticism,  economic  research, 
comparison  between  European  and  peninsular  condi- 
tions resulted  from  the  new  life  brought  into  the  nation. 
The  Benedictine  monk,  Feyjoo,  fought  nobly  in  be- 
half of  his  country's  enlightenment,  ridiculed  the  prev- 


Philip  V. 


alent  notions  about  comets  and  matters  of  science, 
made  the  universities,  where  the  texts  had  not  changed 
since  the  days  of  Ximenes,  smart  for  their  maintenance 
of  the  obsolete  scholastic  philosophy ;  and  scourged  the 
pride,  mendicancy,  and  conservatism  of  the  provinces, 
with  caustic  yet  kindly  severity.  Thus,  under  Philip 
v.,  seeds  of  reform  and  regeneration  were  cautiously 


576 


Ferdinand  VI. 


Public  Security. 


577 


though  surely  scattered,  waiting  only  for  propitious  cir^ 
cumstances  to  germinate.  The  old  order,  without 
being  revolutionized,  received  a  gentle  but  powerful 
shock,  which  roused  men  out  of  the  lethargic  apathy  of 
the  Habsburger  times,  and  made  them  at  least  curiously 
forebode  new  things. 

Thus  prepared,  Spain  came,  in  1746,  under  the  guid- 
ance   of    Ferdinand    VI.  —  a    small,    anxious-minded, 
weakly,    hypochondriacal    man,    of   whom   nobody   ex- 
pected anything  for  the  advancement  of   the  country. 
But  the  people  were  mistaken.     His  pacific  and  benev- 
olent   disposition    gave   the    country  thirteen  years  of 
quiet  and  happiness.     In  this  brooding  period,  for  the 
first  time,  the  germs  sown  in  the  previous  reign  put 
forth  into  life;  unfinished  enterprise  was  carried  fur- 
ther ;  the  system  of  taxation  transformed ;  the  interests 
of  the  population,  of  industrial  and  productive  under- 
takings,   furthered;  .roads    built;    harbors    restored; 
intercourse  with  America  regulated ;  the  purification  of 
the  law  courts,  the  interest  in  science  and  education, 
stimulated.     For  the  first  time  since  Isabella  of  Castile, 
the  government  had   money,  which  was  employed  for 
the   good  of    the    commonwealth.     The   clever  minis- 
ters, Ensenada  and  C-arvajal,  introduced  a  noteworthy 
activity  into  all  branches  of  the  public  service.     The 
destructive   farming   of    the   revenues  was   abolished; 
the  burden   of  the  Alcavala,  or  tax   on   food,  and   of 
indirect   taxation,    lightened;    the    customs  system  re- 
formed, for  the  benefit  of  the  agricultural  and  indus- 
trial classes  ;  regularity  in  providing  for  the  interest  on 
the  national  debt,  and  in  the  payment  of  salaries  intro- 
duced ;   internal    communication   rendered   practicable 
by  the  construction  of  highways  and  the  establishment 


of  a  certain  public  security ;  shipbuilding,  increase  of 
the  marine  service,  and  foreign  trade  encouraged.  Be- 
tween 1737  and  1760,  the  revenues  had  increased  from 
two  hundred  and  eleven  millions  (reals)  to  three  hundred 
and  fifty-two  millions,  despite  the  lightening  of  the  taxes, 
and  apart  from  the  immense  sums,  often  amounting  to 
five  hundred  millions,  accruing  from  American  sources. 
Instead  of  a  deficit  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  mil- 
lions in  the  expenditures,  there  was  a  surplus  of  eighty- 
five  millions.  In  1737,  the  army  had  cost  one  hundred 
and  eighty-eight  millions;  in  1760,  ninety  millions  suf- 
ficed. The  navy  now  consisted  of  forty-four  ships  of 
the  line,  fifteen  frigates,  and  twenty-two  other  ships, 
costing  sixty  millions  instead  of  fifty-one  millions.  The 
whole  government  expenses  in  1737  had  been  eked  out 
with  the  miserable  sum  of  seventeen  and  one-half  mil- 
lions, whereas  now,  almost  that  sum  was  employed  in  the 
department  of  justice  alone,  and  the  whole  expense  of 
running  the  government  ran  up  to  seventy-eight  millions. 
Of  a  thorough-going  reform  of  ecclesiastical  abuses, 
however,  under  Ferdinand  as  under  Philip,  there  was  but 
little  talk.  In  1749,  the  statistics  show  one  hundred  and 
eighty  thousand  persons  belonging  to  the  clerical  class, 
among  whom  one  hundred  and  twelve  thousand  belonged 
to  orders.  The  same  numbers  held  good  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  seventeenth  century,  so  that  at  least  the 
clergy  had  not  increased  in  proportion  to  the  rest  of 
the  population,  which  had  grown  a  million  and  a  half. 
The  extent  of  the  domain  of  the  church  was,  however, 
stilt  prodigious.  It  enjoyed  a  revenue  of  three  hundred 
and  fifty-nine  millions  —  a  sum  equal  to  the  entire  reve- 
nue of  the  state.     Ensenada  told  the  king  that  "  the 


>^.-;»^.!0^<:^i^&i^«'*m^'miSt-^^''^^f«^ 


^tmrwmf^^^^^^^^'^^^^ 


578 


Charles  TIL 


A  Bourbon  Alliance, 


579 


11 


monstrous  number  of  monks  and  clerics  was  highly  inju- 
rious to  the  state,  that  the  councils,  and  even  the  popes, 
had  declared  that  the  only  method  of  obtaining  virtuous 
monks  and  nuns  was,  to  permit  but  a  small  number  of 
each."     But  opinions  were  of  little  avail.     The  bishops 
and  chiefs  of  orders  went  on  as  before,  giving  the  finish- 
ing touch  in  affairs  of  state,  and  even  declaring,  m  junta 
assembled,  that  the  state  was  not  obligated  to  pay  the 
debts  incurred  in  the   previous  reign.     However,  the 
famous  concordat  of  1753  was  an  important  victory  for 
Spain   over    Rome.     By   this    agreement   the    ancient 
Spanish  privilege,  that  the  crown  must  supervise  church 
appointments,  was  re-established,  and^  the  nominations 
from  Rome  reduced  from  twelve  thousand  to  fifty-two. 
The  one  thousand  victims  of  Inquisitorial  torment  in 
the   previous  reign  were    reduced   to   ten   only   under 
Ferdinand.    The  Jesuits  burned  with  indignation  at  the 
satire  of   '*  Brother  Gerund,"    a  remarkable  work   by 
Father  Isla,  condemned,  indeed,  by  the  Inquisition,  but 
universally  read  and  appreciated  for  its  truth  and  wit. 
A  band  of  clever  scholars   appeared  ;  natural   science 
was   cautiously    cultivated;    and    everywhere   progress 

was  visible. 

The  accession  of  Charles  III.  to  the  throne,  in  1759, 
after  having  already  gained  invaluable  experience  in  his 
five-and-twenty  years'  reign  as  king  of  Naples,  gave 
admirable  fruition  to  all  these  dimly-working  agencies. 
Well-educated  in  history  and  mathematics,  and  full  of 
the  spirit  of  French  and  Italian  literature,  full  of  inter- 
est, also,  for  scientific  questions  though  fervently  ortho- 
dox in  his  religious  beliefs,  he  had  gained  insight  into 
the  principles  and  policy  of  government,  and  saw  that 


church  and  state  must  be  divorced  if  either  was  to 
thrive.  He  resented  the  illegalities  of  the  inquisitor- 
general,  who  looked  upon  his  office  as  co-equal  with  the 
crown.     In  1762  he  compelled  all  papal  promulgations 


Charles  III. 


with  regard  to  Spain  to  be  first  submitted  to  the  crown 
for  its  sanction.  His  unhappy  hatred  of  England  and 
his  ambition,  however,  entangled  him  in  the  family  alli- 


\ 


580 


Charles  III. 


ance  of  the  Bourbons,  and  caused  him  in  the  first  years 
of  his  government  to  suffer  a  humiliating  defeat.     But 
an  era  in  which  Pombal   was   working   so  powerfully 
against  the  Jesuits  of  Portugal,  and  Frederic  the  Great 
was  so  gloriously  upholding  the  cause  of  enlightenment 
in  Germany,  could  not  but  affect  Spain  sympathetically. 
The  Italian  ministers  of  the  king,  Squilaci  and  Grim- 
aldi,  ruthlessly  combated  the  old  system  ;  in  the  minis- 
tries and  higher  offices  the  reformers  multiplied  ;  bigotry 
and  sloth  in  the  upper  classes  became   less  intense; 
and  in  the  struggle  between  complete  reform  and  com- 
plete and  irrecoverable  reaction,  Charles  happily  chose 
the  former.     The  Jesuits  were  expelled  from  Spain,  and 
dieir  order  abolished    by   Clement  XIV.,    in    1773,  a 
victory  largely  due  to  the  shrewd  energy  of  the  Spanish 
ambassador,   Monino,  afterwards  Count  Floridablanca. 
Incalculable  results  followed  from  this  great  step  ;  eccle- 
siastical interference  in   secular  affairs  was  stemmed  ; 
the  beggary  and  licentiousness  of  the  countless  brother- 
hoods restrained ;  the  church  monopoly  in  educational 
matters,  its  right  to  submit  all  literary  productions  to  a 
manifold  censorship,  the    astounding    impertinence  of 
Roman   pretensions   to   jurisdiction    over  the  Spanish 

church,  checked. 

The  chief  agents  in  these  memorable  reforms  were 
the  Counts  Aranda,  Floridablanca,  and  Campomanes. 
They  represent  the  essential  elements  and  tendencies 
which  then  impelled  the  peninsula  forward.  Aranda,  a 
grandee  of  Aragon  and  a  military  man  of  high  position, 
was  thoroughly  conversant  with  French  politics  and  cul- 
ture, a  personal  friend  of  Voltaire,  a  nucleus  for  the 
Spanish  type  of  French  radicalism,  and  a   passionate 


'^ 


580 


Charles  III. 


ance  of  the  Bourbons,  and  caused  hinn  in  the  first  years 
of  his  government  to  suffer  a  humiliating  defeat.     But 
an  era  in  which  Pombal   was    working   so  powerfully 
against  the  Jesuits  of  Portugal,  and  Frederic  the  Great 
w^as  so  gloriously  upholding  the  cause  of  enlightenment 
in  Germany,  could  not  but  affect  Spain  sympathetically. 
The  Italian  ministers  of  the  king,  Squilaci  and  Grim- 
aldi,  ruthlessly  combated  the  old  system  ;  in  the  minis- 
tries and  higher  offices  the  reformers  multiplied  ;  bigotry 
and  sloth  in  the  upper  classes  became   less  intense; 
and  in  the  struggle  between  complete  reform  and  com- 
plete and  irrecoverable  reaction,  Charles  happily  chose 
the  former.     The  Jesuits  were  expelled  from  Spain,  and 
their  order  abolished    by   Clement   XIV.,    in    1773,   a 
victory  largely  due  to  the  shrewd  energy  of  the  Spanish 
ambassador,   Monino,  afterwards  Count  Floridablanca. 
Incalculable  results  followed  from  this  great  step  ;  eccle- 
siastical interference  in   secular  affairs  was  stemmed  ; 
the  beggary  and  licentiousness  of  the  countless  brother- 
hoods restrained ;  the  church  monopoly  in  educational 
matters,  its  right  to  submit  all  literary  productions  to  a 
manifold  censorship,  the    astounding    impertinence  of 
Roman   pretensions   to    jurisdiction    over  the  Spanish 

church,  checked. 

The  chief  agents  in  these  memorable  refomis  were 
the  Counts  Aranda,  Floridablanca,  and  Campomanes. 
Thev  represent  the  essential  elements  and  tendencies 
which  then  impelled  the  peninsula  forward.  Aranda,  a 
grandee  of  Aragon  and  a  military  man  of  high  position, 
was  thoroughly  conversant  with  French  politics  and  cul- 
ture, a  personal  friend  of  Voltaire,  a  nucleus  for  the 
Spanish  type  of  French  radicalism,  and  a   passionate 


m 


Political  Reformers, 


583 


champion  of  the  French  alliance.  He  was  the  terror 
of  the  reactionists,  the  high-priest  of  reform,  the  aven- 
ger of  the  injured  majesty  of  the  king,  the  castigator 
of  unbridled  license,  and  the  enemy  of  the  Jesuits, 
whom  he  drove  out  of  Spain  in  one  day.  His  distin- 
guished birth  and  military  position,  too,  gave  his  reforms 
an  aspect  of  bon  ton  duly  appreciated  by  the  proudest 
nation  in  Europe.  Yet  his  frivolity  and  irreligious 
taint  at  length  displeased  the  conservative-tempered 
king  and  his  people,  and  Aranda  was  pushed  aside  for 
Campomanes,  an  Asturian  villager,  the  exact  opposite 
of  the  grandee  of  Aragon. 

With  a  spirit  of  universal  intelligence,  a  character 
marked  by  the  purest  unselfishness  and  consistency, 
a  heart  full  of  love  for  his  people  and  patriotism 
for  his  native  land,  Campomanes  was  more  familiar 
with  European  culture  than  even  Aranda,  while  he  did 
not  overvalue  it.  Profoundly  imbued  with  the  historic 
sense,  and  with  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  past 
career  of  his  country,  he  knew  that  every  people,  how- 
ever richly  it  may  learn  from  foreign  lands,  has  to  fol- 
low the  laws  of  its  own  peculiar  development,  condi- 
tioned as  they  are  by  manifold  circumstances.  A  friend 
of  national  and  local  independence  and  self  govern- 
ment, he  appealed  to  public  opinion  and  enlightened 
patriots.  His  literary  activity  was  wonderful,  and  it 
was  chiefly  directed  to  eradicating  the  distorted  views 
of  life,  the  beggarly  arrogance,  the  unctuous  idleness, 
the  contempt  for  labor  and  utility  prevalent  in  Spain. 
As  author  and  as  president  of  the  council  of  Castile, 
as  president  of  the  academy  of  history  and  as  financier, 
his  attention  covered  the  whole  ground  of  public  polity, 


584 


Charles  III. 


purifying  and  reforming.  The  immoderate  possessions 
of  the  clergy  arising  from  mortmain,  the  extension  of 
cloister-building,  the  protection  given  by  the  church  to 
privileged,  immemorial  beggary,  the  harmful  preroga- 
tives of  the  great  cattle  and  sheep  companies,  the 
guilds,  and  the  havens,  the  degradation  of  the  univer- 
sities, and  the  absurd  neglect  of  mathematical,  econom- 
ical, and  scientific  studies,  were  bitterly  opposed  by  him. 
But  his  sagacious  mind  told  him  that  he  must  not  revo- 
lutionize —  that  he  must  first  gain  public  opinion  to- 
his  side  —  that  he  must  tranquillize  and  illuminate,  not 
outrage  it.  Hence,  in  its  century  of  most  absolute 
absolutism,  Spain  became  covered  with  patriotic  socie- 
ties, which  placed  at  the  free  disposal  of  the  govern- 
ment, the  help  of  the  educated :  intelligent  insight, 
useful,  practical  knowledge  were  disseminated,  and  the 
country,  emerging  from  the  murk  and  wreck  of  the 
Habsburgers,  began  to  work  its  way  cheerfully  toward 
the  light. 

In  1777  Floridablanca,  a  highly-endowed  and  widely- 
cultured  man,  succeeded  Campomanes  in  the  cares  of 
prime-minister.  He  differed  from  both  of  his  remarkable 
predecessors.  Though  free  from  bigotry,  he  was  at  the 
same  time  opposed  to  the  radicalism  of  the  French 
School.  Though  he  combated  the  church  with  his 
sharpest  weapons  when  he  considered  its  encroachments 
dangerous  to  the  state,  he  made  common  cause  with  it  so 
soon  as  the  church  submitted  to  his  conceptions  of  a 
benignant  absolutism.  The  yeasty  fermentation  of 
Aranda's  principles  was  as  repugnant  to  him  as  Cam- 
pomanes' subtle  but  perilous  education  of  the  masses  in 
self-government,  civilization,  and  learning.     He  was  a 


Progress  Retardecl. 


585 


great  policeman  and  bureaucrat  rather  than  a  great 
statesman,  — an  incarnation  of  the  eighteenth  century's 
passion  for  material  interests,  development  of  the  powers 
of  the  state,  cabal,  commanding  below  and  obeying  above, 
autocratic  selfishness.  Both  king  and  minister  had  in 
view  an  unconditional  maintenance  of  the  authority  of 
the  crown  ;  and  both  admired  strict  orthodoxy. 

Such  reforms   as   had    been  in  preparation  for  two 
generations  met  great  difficulties  in  the  tough  and  un- 
changing  middle   class.     The   heads   of    departments 
were  able  men,  but  detail  work,  application  of  principles 
to  practice,  shattered  against  the  colossal  reefs  of  indo- 
lence, ignorance,  and  official  corruption.     The  higher 
nobility  were  hardly  to  be  moved  out  of  their  attach- 
ment to  empty  external  pomp ;  they  could  hardly  be 
induced  to  take  an  interest  in  educating  either  them- 
selves or  the  masses.     The  thousands  of  pompous  pre- 
bendaries,   the    tens    of    thousands    of    superstitious, 
unemployed,   and   careless   monks,   clung   to    the   old 
order  of  things,  which  was  their  very  existence.     And 
the  only  immediate  result  of  so  much  anxious  prepara- 
tion seemed  to  be  that  Spaniards  were  less  fanatical, 
less  prcud  of  imagined  excellences,  more  ready  to  fol- 
low a  new  order  of  things  than  a  hundred  years  ago. 
The  attempts  to  manufacture  the  products  of  the  coun- 
try, to  start  the  mines  again,  to  revive  business  by  the 
building  of  canals  and  turnpikes,  to  repress  mendicancy 
by  the  establishment  of  houses  of  correction,  swallowed 
huge  sums  without  immediate  beneficial  consequences. 
The  magnificent  saltpetre  works  at  Madrid,  for  in- 
stance, lost  something  like  three  reals  on  every  pound 
of  material.     1'he  great  spinning  establishment  erected 


686 


Charles  III. 


War  of  the  Succession, 


587 


by  the  archbishop  of  Toledo  for  the  employment  of 
the  poor,  ended  in  disaster.  Hundreds  of  millions 
were  spent  on  roads  which  were  left  unfinished.  Num- 
berless speculators  spread  their  mazy  nets  over  the 
land.  The  census  of  1787  showed  indeed  a  consider- 
able decrease  in  the  clergy,  and  the  convents  were  re- 
duced one-third  in  number  as  compared  with  the  seven- 
teenth century ;  but  the  ninety-five  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-nine  persons  who  lived  in  three 
thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine  convents,  were  a 
frightful  burden  to  bear.  Among  the  seventy  thousand 
secular  clergy,  there  were  only  twenty-two  thousand 
priests.  The  elementary  schools  were  visited  by  only 
one-tenth  of  the  youth.  Though  the  population  had 
nearly  doubled  (10,268,150)  in  one  hundred  years,  yet 
sixteen  hundred  and  eleven  once  inhabited  places  now 
lay  waste,  and  out  of  every  thirteen  houses,  one  was, 
even  according  to  Spanish  ideas,  uninhabitable.  The 
thirty  years  of  reform  had  in  1787  increased  the  reve- 
nues only  to  four  hundred  millions  reals,  and  expenses 
ran  beyond  income  by  more  than  one  hundred  millions. 
The  two  foolish  wars  with  England  compelled  the  issue  of 
the  vales  reales,  a  paper  currency  bearing  interest  at  four 
per  cent.,  four  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  which,  with 
interest  amounting  to  eighteen  millions,  circulated  down 
to  1783.  Instead  of  providing  for  the  payment  of  these 
obligations  in  the  succeeding  years  of  peace,  they  were 
increased  to  meet  the  expenses  of  roads  and  canals.  A 
later  calculation  showed  the  national  debt  bequeathed  by 
Charles  III.  to  be  two  milliards  of  reals.  Deficit  hence- 
forth became  a  regular  part  of  each  administration, 
though  trade  with  America  increased  wonderfully  after 


all  the  Spanish  ports  —  hitherto  it  had  been  confined 
to  Cadiz  —  were  permitted  to  compete  for  it. 

Still,  great  things  had  happened  in  Spain  since  the 
reactionary  revolt  of  1766.  The  state  had  emancipated 
itself  from  the  church,  and  was  striving  to  counteract 
the  church's  injurious  influence  on  the  masses.  The 
people  uninterruptedly  pressed  forward.  The  measures 
of  the  government,  the  performances  of  literature,  the 
watchfulness  of  public  opinion  showed  continually  a 
welcome  growth.  The  nation  had  wound  its  way  out 
of  the  labyrinths  of  Habsburger  politics,  and  found 
itself  abreast  of  many  of  its  European  compeers. 

The  death  of  Charles  III.  in  December  1788,  closed 
the  period  of  reform  in  Spain.  The  reign  of  his  suc- 
cessor, Charles  IV.,  was  a  twenty  years'  preparation  for 
revolution. 

So  much  for  the  general  considerations  growing  out 
of  a  survey  of  these  three  important  reigns.  A  more 
precise,  though  brief  enumeration  of  dates  and  facts 
will  be  necessary  to  make  our  sketch  intelligible. 

The  War  of  the  Succession  between  Philip  of  Anjou, 
the  testamentary  heir  of  Charles  II.,  and  the  Archduke 
Charles,  second  son  of  the  Emperor  Leopold  of  Ger- 
many, who  also  claimed  the  succession,  is  the  first 
great  event  that  meets  us  at  the  threshold  of  Philip 
V.'s  reign.  In  it  Charles,  assisted  by  the  Portuguese 
and  English,  more  than  once  drove  Philip  from  his  cap- 
ital and  seemed  on  the  point  of  establishing  himself 
as  king.  But  Philip  was  deeply  rooted  in  the  affections 
of  his  adopted  people  ;  they  fought  nobly  for  him,  and 
the  obstinate  struggle  was  only  ended  by  the  election  of 
the   archduke   as   successor  to  his    brother,      Prince 


1: 


588 


Philip  K 


Eusene's  brilliant  successes  in  Italy  over  the  French,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war,  had  much  to  do  with  the  for- 
mation of  the  anti-Gallican  Grand  Alliance  in  1701,  be- 
tween England,  Holland,  and  Austria,  for  the  purpose 
of  preventing  the  union  of  the  two  crowns  of  France 
and    Spain    on   one    head.      Louis's   great   antagonist, 
William  III.  of  England,  however,  died  in   1702,  leav- 
ing the  country  to  Anne.     Assisted  by  the  counsels  of 
Godolphin  and  Marlborough,  the  queen  became  formi- 
dable to   Louis;  Cadiz  was  plundered   by   an  English 
armament,  and    the    "plate    fleet"  from  America   de- 
stroyed  during    Philip's    absence   in    the    Italian    cam- 
paign;  Charles  III.,  as  the   archduke  called  himself, 
landed  at  Lisbon  with  eight  thousand  men  ;  and  Philip's 
cause  looked  gloomy,    .  Marshal  Berwick,  a  natural  son 
of    James    II.    by    Marlborough's    sister,    commanded 
Louis's  auxiliaries  in  Spain,  and  the  duke  of  Vendome 
began  to  check  the  victorious  career  of  Prince  Eugene 
in  Italy.     In    1704,    Sir  George    Rooke   executed   the 
memorable  capture  of  Gibraltar,  which  has  ever  since 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  English.     But  the  great 
battles  to  which  the  War  of  the   Succession  owes  its 
celebrity,  were  fought  in  Germany  and  the  Netherlands, 
where  Marlborough   commanded   with   sixty  thousand 
troops.     The  batde  of  Blenheim  in  1704  relieved  the 
emperor  from   impending  ruin,  immortalized  Marlbor- 
ough and  Prince  Eugene,  and  menaced  the  French  with 
annihilation.      The   fantastic    Peterborough,   with    his 
bold,  able,  and  skilful  tactics  in  Spain,  greatly  aided  the 
cause  of  the    archduke.     Barcelona   fell  by  a    daring 
stratagem    of    Lord    Peterborough's,    and    almost   the 
whole  of  Murcia,  Valencia,  and  eastern  Spain  acknowl- 


588 


Philip  r. 


Eugene's  brilliant  successes  in  Italy  over  the  French,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war,  had  much  to  do  with  the  for- 
mation of  the  anti-Gallican  Grand  Alliance  in  1701,  be- 
tween England,  Holland,  and  Austria,  for  the  purpose 
of  preventing  the  union  of  the  two  crowns  of  France 
and    Spain    on   one    head.      Louis's   great   antagonist, 
William   III.  of  England,  however,  died  in   1702,  leav- 
ing the  country  to  Anne.     Assisted  by  the  counsels  of 
Godolphin  and  Marlborough,  the  queen  became  formi- 
dable to   Louis;   Cadiz  was  plundered   by   an   English 
armament,  and    the    ''plate    fleet"  from  America   de- 
stroyed  during    Philip's    absence   in    the    Italian    cam- 
paign;  Charles  III.,  as   the   archduke   called   himself, 
landed  at  Lisbon  with  eight  thousand  men  ;  and  Philip's 
cause  looked  gloomy.     Marshal  Berwick,  a  natural  son 
of    James    II.    by    Marlborough's    sister,    commanded 
Louis's  auxiliaries  in  Spain,  and  the  duke  of  Vendome 
began  to  check  the  victorious  career  of  Prince  Eugene 
in  Italy.     In    1704,    Sir  George    Rooke    executed    the 
memorable  capture  of  Gibraltar,  which  has  ever  since 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  English.     But  the  great 
battles   to  which  the  War  of  the   Succession  owes  its 
celebrity,  were  fought  in  Germany  and  the  Netherlands, 
where  Marlborough   commanded   with   sixty  thousand 
troops.     The  batde  of  Blenheim  in   1704  relieved  the 
emperor  from   impending   ruin,  immortalized  Marlbor- 
ou"-h  and  Prince  Eugene,  and  menaced  the  French  with 
annihilation.      The    fantastic    Peterborough,   with    his 
bold,  able,  and  skilful  tactics  in  Spain,  greatly  aided  the 
cause  of  the    archduke.     Barcelona   fell  by  a    daring 
stratagem    of    Lord    Peterborough's,    and    almost   the 
whole  of  Murcia,  Valencia,  and  eastern  Spain  acknowl- 


Peace  of  Utrecht. 


591 


edged  Charles.  Barcelona  was  again  besieged  by 
Philip,  reduced  to  the  last  extremity,  but  relieved  at 
the  critical  moment  by  an  English  fleet.  Saragossa 
and  Madrid  fell  under  Peterborough's  eccentric  and 
dashing  manoeuvres ;  the  splendid  and  decisive  battle 
of  Ramilies  in  the  Netherlands,  in  1706,  crowned  Marl- 
borough's arms  with  glory. 

In  the  panoramic  shiftings  of  the  war,  Philip  soon  re- 
turned to  Madrid,  Charles  was  soon   driven  into  Cata- 
lonia;  Louis   positively  rejected   all   demands   of    the 
Grand  Alliance  that  he  should  compel  his  grandson  to 
abdicate,  declaring  that  if  he  must  make  war,  it  should 
not  be  against  his  own  children ;  though  the  sanguinary 
battle  of  Malplaquet,  in  1709,  won  by  Marlborough  and 
Prince  Eugene   over  marshal  Villars  and  the  French, 
caused  him  to  repent.     The  Czar  Peter  of  Russia,  and 
Charles  XII.  of  Sweden,  were  meanwhile  in  the  north, 
waging  their  terrible  wars,  and  threatening  to  involve  one 
or  another  of  the  German  states  in  their  disputes.     In 
the  south,   Philip  had  again  (17 10)  fled  from  Madrid. 
But  the  death  of  the  emperor,  Joseph  I.,  left  his  throne 
vacant  to  his  brother  Charles  ;  and  as  the  Grand  Al- 
liance  had   never  contemplated   the  union  of   all   the 
hereditary  dominions  of  the  house  of  Austria,  Spanish 
and  German,  under  one  crown,   the  peaceful   solution 
of  the  question  was  now  accomplished.     By  the  peace 
of  Utrecht,  in  17 13,  Philip  was  acknowledged  king  of 
Spain  and  the  Indies  ;  Naples,   Milan,   Sardinia,  and 
the  Netherlands  were  assigned  to  the   emperor ;   Sicily 
fell  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy ;  England  retained  her  con- 
quests of  Gibraltar,  Minorca,  Newfoundland,  and  Hud- 


592 


Philip   V. 


son's  Bay ;  and  the  emperor  was  obliged  to  recall  his 
troops  from  Catalonia. 

Scrofula  carried  off  the  king's  first  wife,  Maria  Louisa, 
in  1714.     Philip  abandoned  himself  to  squalor  and  de- 
spair, and  could  only  be  roused  by  the  Princess  Orsini, 
the  favorite  of  his  wife,  who  proposed  another  match 
(Isabella  Farnese).     A  woman  of  unrivalled  conversa- 
tional powers,  tact,  and  eloquence,  Orsini  had  exercised 
undisturbed  ascendency  over  the  queen,  and  as  Louis's 
tool    influenced    Spanish  politics  at   all   points.      Her 
savage  treatment  by  the  new  queen,  and  expulsion  to 
France  in  the  depths  of  winter,  is  one  of  the  common- 
places of  Spanish  history.   Louis's  death  in  1715  brought 
Isabella's  truly  Italian  genius  for  intrigue  into  luxuri- 
ant play.    In  1724,  Philip  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  son 
Luis^  _!  it  is  supposed  with  the  hope  of  acquiring  the 
sovereignty  of  France  on  the  expected  death  of  Louis 
XV.     The  French  king,  however,  recovered ;  Don  Luis 
was  carried  off  by  the  small-pox  after  a  reign  of  eight 
months  ;  and  Philip,  who  had  taken  a  solemn  and  irrev- 
ocable vow  never  to  resume  the  crown,  found  it  conve- 
nient to  forget.     His  morbid  melancholy  so  increased 
between  1730  and  1734,  that  he  would  lie  in  bed  for 
months,  and,  like  Juana,  refuse  to  attend  to  any  sort  of 
business.     In  the  Italian  campaign  of  1 733-5  Naples  and 
Sicily  were  reconquered  by  the  young  duke  of  Parma, 
Philip's  eldest  son.     Spain  concurred  in  the  Pragmatic 
Sanction  of  1738-9,  by  which  the  Archduchess  Maria 
Theresa  was  guaranteed  the  right  of  succession  to  the 
Austrian  dominions  of  her  father,  Charles  VI.      War 
with  England  broke  out  in  1739,  owing  to  commercial 
disputes  growing  out  of   the  treaty  of  Utrecht.     The 


Death  of  Philip    V, 


593 


death  of  Charles  VI.  in  1740  was  the  signal  for  a  gen- 
eral explosion  around  the  heroic  figure  of  Maria  The- 
resa, who,  empress-queen  in  consequence  of  her  hus- 
band's election  as  emperor  in  1746,  worsted  both  France 
and  Spain  in  their  efforts  to  support  the  Bourbon  claim 
to  the  imperial  throne. 


Maria  Louisa. 


A  sudden  fit  of  apoplexy  carried  off  Philip  in  1746, 
before  he  could  obtain  help  either  from  medicine  or 
confessor.  Though  Alberoni  and  Ripperdk  —  the  latter 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  adventurers  of  which 
history  gives  any  account  —  were  not  specially  able  or 


694 


Ferdinand   VI. 


honest  ministers,  they  improved  the  country,  rehabili- 
tated to  some  extent  the  army  and  navy,  and  assisted 
Philip  in  his  undeniable  desire  to  govern  well. 

The  king  spent  enormous  sums  in  building  a  Spanish 
Versailles  in  the  clouds—  San  Ildefonso,  or  La  Granja, 
whose  magnificent  fountains  and  gardens  still  hang,  four 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  on  the  acclivities  of  the 
Guadarramas.  It  is  a  fairy  palace  about  which  sparkle 
the  purest  mountain  waters :  great  avenues  of  pine  ; 
silver  and  purple  peaks  ;  an  immeasurable  plain  out- 
spread in  front;  an  ancient  chateau  filled  with  the 
quaint  tapestries,  clocks,  and  furniture  of  the  time  of 
Louis  XV. ;  long  garden-vistas,  down  which  gleam  bril- 
liant masses  of  sculptured  marble  in  frolicking  w^ater ;  — 
such  are  San  Ildefonso  and  its  surroundings. 

At  thirty-eight,  when  he  succeeded  to  the  throne, 
Ferdinand  VI.  did  not  give  promise  of  so  long  and 
stirring  a  reign  as  his  father.  Nor,  in  fact,  did  his 
irresolute,  indolent,  amiable  life  last  beyond  thirteen 
years  after  his  accession.  He  was  fortunate  in  possess- 
ing an  excellent  wife — Barbara  of  Portugal — whose 
sense  compensated  for  her  homeliness.  The  treaty  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  1748,  closed  the  war  in  which  Maria 
Theresa,  France,  England,  and  Spain  had  been  so  long 
engaged.  Henceforth  Ferdinand  lived  in  peace,  de- 
voted his  attention  to  improving  the  agriculture,  trade, 
and  manufactures  of  Spain,  opposing  an  enlightened  op- 
position—  though  Bourbon  to  the  bone — to  the  Inqui- 
sition, and  building  up  the  resources  of  his  exhausted 
countr)'.  He  was  tolerably  fortunate,  too,  in  the  selec- 
tion of  his  ministers.  The  Marquis  de  la  Ensenada,  a 
peasant,  banking-clerk,  and  financier,  rose  to  be  minister 


The  Lisbon  Earthquake, 


595 


of  marine,  war,  and  finance.  Attached  to  France,  he  was 
a  friend  of  the  avaricious  queen,  and  by  her  influence 
and  that  of  the  celebrated  singer,  Farinelli,  was  retained 
in  office.  It  was  to  the  enchantment  of  Farinelli's 
music  that  Philip  had  owed  his  recovery  from  an  almost 
hopeless  attack  of  hypochondria.  The  singer's  exqui- 
site voice  had  charmed  the  king  out  of  his  filthy  couch, 
where  he  had  lain  for  months  neglected  and  half  raving 
with  gloom.  Ferdinand  and  his  queen  were  both 
music-worshippers ;  they  retained  Farinelli,  and  his 
influence  was  unbounded,  though  "I  am  a  musician, 
not  a  politician,"  said  he,  when  one  tried  to  bribe  him. 

Don  Jose  de  Carvajal,  Ferdinand's  other  minister, 
was  a  man  of  solid  judgment  and  sound  sense,  pure, 
just,  and  incorruptible.  His  opposition  to  French  in- 
fluence counterbalanced  Ensenada's  inclination  in  that 
direction. 

The  revolt  and  reduction  of  the  seven  Jesuit  settle- 
ments in  Paraguay,  in  1750,  attracted  attention  to  the 
power  of  that  immense  Catholic  organization  in  the 
New  World.  These  settlements  had  been  founded  with 
great  toil,  expense,  and  judgment  by  Jesuit  missionaries 
seht  out  to  convert  the  Indians,  bring  them  under  civil- 
ized institutions,  and  teach  them  the  elements  of  knowl- 
edge. The  proposed  cession  of  the  settlements  to 
Portugal  in  exchange  for  Nova  Colonia  —  a  remote 
colony  —  caused  the  revolt. 

The  horrible  earthquake  of  Lisbon,  in  1755,  preceded 
Ferdinand's  death  by  four  years,  and  caused  the  whole 
population  of  the  city  to  live  in  tents  or  huts  throughout 
the  winter.  The  disgrace  of  Ensenada  ensued  on  the 
discovery  that  he  had  sent  out  secret  orders  to  the  West 


596 


Charles  IIL 


Indies  to  attack  the  English  logwood  settlements  on 
the  Musquito  coast.  Spain  kept  aloof  from  the  general 
European  war  of  1756,  in  which  England  and  Prussia 
ranged  themselves  against  the  empire,  France,  Russia, 
Sweden,  and  Poland.  William  Pitt,  afterwards  Lord 
Chatham,  rose  to  eminence  at  this  period,  and  courted 
the  alliance  of  Spain  so  earnestly  that  he  even  offered 
Ferdinand  Gibraltar  if  he  would  deviate  from  his  neu- 
trality and  join  England. 

The  death  of  Queen  Barbara  in  1758  threw  the  king 
into  agonies  of  grief,  from  which  he  never  recovered. 
His  death  in  1759,  childless,  opened  the  way  for  his 
brother,  Don  Carlos  (Charles  III.),  king  of  the  Two 
Sicilies.  Perhaps  Charles  did  not  find  this  loss  so 
irreparable  when  he  discovered  that  his  brother's  econ- 
omy had  left  fifteen  millions  of  dollars  in  the  treasury. 
The  abolition  of  papal  patronage  had  also  relieved  his 
subjects  from  an  unendurable  evil.  In  1759  the  Jesuits, 
who  were  supposed  to  have  been  implicated  in  the  plot 
to  murder  King  Jose  of  Portugal,  were  proscribed  and 
banished  by  the  weakest  and  most  bigoted  court  in 
Europe. 

Charles  III.'s  long  reign  was  crowded  with  important 
events.  His  eldest  son  was  an  epileptic  idiot  who  could 
not  succeed  to  the  Italian  dominions,  which  were  there- 
fore settled  upon  his  third  son,  Ferdinand,  proclaimed 
king  of  the  Sicilies.  Charles  banished  Farinelli,  in- 
stalled his  Neapolitan  favorite.  Marquis  Squilaci,  made 
provision  for  the  payment  of  the  national  debt,  which 
had  been  neglected  by  the  economical  Ferdinand,  and 
after  the  death  of  his  gentle  queen,  Amelia  of  Saxony, 
in  1760,  plunged  into  the  first  of   his  disastrous  wars 


THE   LEANING    TOWER    OF    6AKAGOSSA. 


^11 


The  Bourhon  Compact. 


599 


against  England.  England  under  Pitt  had  nearly  oblit- 
erated the  Spanish  navy  and  conquered  the  colonies  of 
her  enemy  in  nearly  every  part  of  the  globe.  Charles, 
urged  by  the  Duke  de  Choiseul,  joined  France  in  the 
Bourbon  alliance  called  the  Family  Compact,  by  which 
the  different  sovereigns  of  the  Bourbon  blood  bound 
themselves  to  support  one  another  against  all  the  world. 
War  was  formally  declared,  after  long  negcftiations  be- 
tween the  courts  of  Madrid  and  St.  James,  in  1762. 
Havana,  with  a  booty  of  three  millions  sterling,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  British  ;  Trinidad,  in  the  West 
Indies,  and  Manilla,  capital  of  the  Philippines,  followed; 
and  the  famous  Acapulco  galleon,  with  its  cargo  worth 
three  million  dollars,  became  the  spoil  of  the  Union 
Jack. 

In  1763  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  between  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Spain,  in  which  France  ceded  to 
England  Canada,  the  adjacent  islands,  '' Louisiana '» 
lying  east  of  the  Mississippi,  Dominica,  St.  Vincent, 
Tobago,  Senegal,  and  many  parts  of  the  Coromandel 
coast.  Spain  bought  back  Havana,  Trinidad,  and  Ma- 
nilla by  the  cession  to  England  of  the  Floridas  and  the 
right  granted  to  the  English  to  cut  logwood  in  the  Bay 
of  Honduras.  Spain  recovered  the  rest  of  "  Louis- 
iana "  lying  west  of  the  Mississippi. 

General  Wall,  a  foreigner,  who  had  been  one  of  Fer- 
dinand's trusted  ministers,  was  now  succeeded  by  Mar- 
quis Grimaldi,  a  Genoese,  whose  lively  conversation, 
comely  person,  and  real  abilities  had  brought  him  to 
the  notice  of  Charles.  Wall,  however,  soon  wearying 
of  the  cares  of  political  life,  is  said  to  have  rubbed  his 
eyes  with  ointment  so  as  to  give  them  the  aspect  of 


600 


Charles  IIL 


inflammation,  and  feigned  inability  to  carry  on  the  gov- 
ernment any  longer.  Grimaldi  tightened  the  links  be- 
tween France  and  Spain  and  the  other  royal  families  of 
Europe,  by  forging  new  and  more  complicated  matri- 
monial chains.  The  favorite  Squilaci's  career  ended 
with   the   famous    Sombrero-and-Manta    revolution   of 

1766. 

He  ha(f  tried  to  quell  the  incessant  assassinations 
occurring  in  the  capital,  by  bringing  about  the  abolition 
of  the  huge  sombreros  and  voluminous  mantas  which  the 
dangerous  classes  affected,  and  by  means  of  which  they 
could  either  effectually  disguise  themselves  or  carry 
concealed  weapons  with  impunity.  A  storm  of  indig- 
nation ensued,  intensified  by  his  efforts  to  clean  the 
disgusting  filth  of  the  capital,  regulate  the  price  of 
food,  and  light  the  city.  Both  king  and  favorite  fled 
the  town ;  the  intended  abolition  was  not  carried  out ; 
and  the  mob  triumphed.  The  Count  de  Aranda  suc- 
ceeded Grimaldi.  From  the  zealous  protector  of  the 
Jesuits,  Charies  became  their  implacable  enemy,  after 
his  mind  had  been  artfully  poisoned  by  insinuations 
that  they  were  the  prime  agents  in  the  Madrid  insurrec- 
tion. They  were  cruelly  expelled  at  midnight,  in  March 
1767,  and  departed  in  thousands  to  Italy  and  Corsica. 
Charles's  course  was  followed  by  the  duke  of  Parma 
and  the  king  of  the  Sicilies.  To  the  universal  prayer 
that  they  might  be  permitted  to  return,  Charles  was 
inflexible,  and  the  Order  of  Jesus  was  formally  sup- 
pressed by  Clement  XIV.,  in  1773. 

Aranda  introduced  many  reforms  in  army  and  navy, 
and  adopted  the  system  of  tactics  mvented  by  Frederic 
the  Great.     His  efforts  to  liberalize  Spanish  ideas  were 


War  with  England. 


601 


unremitting:  he  limited  the  monstrous  privileges  of 
sanctuary,  by  which  almost  any  criminal  could  flee  for 
safety  to  almost  any  one  of  the  innumerable  churches 
in  the  kingdom ;  he  opposed  an  audacious  front  to  the 
Inquisition;  he  rooted  out  haunts  of  robbers  and  ban- 
ditti, and  established  a  colony  of  intelligent  Germans, 
Swiss,  and  Italians  in  the  Sierra  Morena.  His  revolu- 
tionary tendencies,  however,  were  so  marked  that  they 
caused  his  removal,  and  many  of  his  best  reforms  were 
brought  to  naught. 

Louis  XVI.,  husband  of  the  fascinating  Marie  An- 
toinette, had  now  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  France. 
In  Spain,  Don  Jose  Monifio,  afterwards  created  count 
Floridablanca  (1775),  had  become  prime  minister.  The 
never-ending  disputes  with  Portugal  over  the  Brazil- 
ian colonies  were  accommodated  by  the  cesssion  of 
Nova  Colonia  to  Spain,  and  the  securing  of  an  offen- 
sive and  defensive  alliance  between  the  hitherto  bitter 
enemies.  The  outbreak  of  the  American  War  of  Inde- 
pendence had  its  reverberations  all  over  the  globe. 
France  joined  the  United  States  (1778);  Spain  kept 
aloof  for  a  while,  but  in  1779  frivolously  declared  war 
against  England.  A  rebellion  in  the  wealthy  trans- 
atlantic provinces  of  Spain,  which  had  been  so  tranquil 
under  Philip  V.  and  Ferdinand  VI.,  however,  kept  the 
government  inactive.  An  alarming  insurrection,  pro- 
voked by  the  exactions  of  the  corregidores,  and  headed 
by  the  so-called  Inca,  Tupac-Amaru,  broke  out  in  Peru, 
but  was  crushed  in  178 1-2.  The  Spaniards  took  the 
Bahama  Islands  in  1782  ;  but  Gibraltar,  which  had  now 
been  blockaded  three  years,  proved  impregnable.  The 
capture  of  this  mighty  rock  was  Charles's  passionate 


I. 


\ 


] 


602 


Charles  III. 


wish.  "Is  Gibraltar  taken?''  was  his  first  question 
every  morning.  The  American  war  was  drawing  to  a 
close  (1782).  Spain,  realizing  that  her  navy  had  been 
nearly  annihilated  and  that  twenty  millions  sterling  had 
been  added  to  her  debt,  signed  the  preliminaries  of 
peace  in  1783.  In  Jmie,  1786,  ended  the  millennium 
of  war  in  which  she  had  been  engaged  with  the  Ma- 
hometans, by  which  a  peace  was  brought  about  between 
Algiers  and  the  peninsula,  piratical  incursions  from 
Barbary  put  an  end  to,  and  thousands  of  Spaniards, 
who  had  been  pining  in  hopeless  slavery,  liberated. 

Internal  regulations  and  foreign  negotiations ;  efforts 
to  recover  Gibraltar ;  to  meddle  in  German  politics  at 
the  death  of  Frederic  the  Great,  in  1786;  disapproba- 
tion of  the  projected  quadruple  alliance  of  Russia, 
Austria,  France,  and  Spain ;  relaxation  of  the  irksome 
intimacy  between  the  two  Bourbon  courts  ;  and  nervous 
horror  of  French  republicanism,  now  frightfully  on  the 
increase  by  the  success  of  America ;  the  financial  em- 
barrassments of  the  French  government,  and  the  as- 
sembling of  the  long-discontinued  states-general,  filled 
up  the  remaining  years  of  Charles's  life.  Spain,  how- 
ever,  had  gradually  become  saturated  with  French  ideas 
and  French  philosophy.  Literature,  the  new  school  of 
statesmanship,  the  relaxation  of  the  censorship  of  the 
press,  the  starving  of  the  Inquisition,  hitherto  so  abun- 
dantly fed  with  Jews  and  Protestants,  all  showed  prog- 
ress. Roads  and  canals,  employment  of  cultivated 
aliens  in  the  ministries,  the  establishment  of  a  public 
bank,  the  introduction  of  an  effective  police,  the  util- 
ization of  the  clergy  in  providing  for  the  poor,  —  such 


Death  of  Charles  III, 


603 


were   some   of   the   enduring  monuments  of    Florida- 
blanca's  beneficent  rule. 

Charles  died  in  1788,  seventy-three  years  of  age, 
within  a  month  of  his  favorite  son,  Don  Gabriel,  who 
fell  a  victim  to  the  prejudice  against  inoculation. 


n 


CHAPTER    XXV.. 

THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  —  REIGNS  OF  CHARLES 
IV.  AND  FERDINAND  VIL 

THE  twenty  years  between  the  death  of  Charles 
ni.  and  the  abdication  of  his  ignoble  son,  in  1808, 
form  one  of  the  most  dismal  episodes  of  Spanish  his- 
tory. The  brilliant  eminence  to  which  Spain  had  gradu- 
ally attained  under  Campomanes,  Aranda,  and  Florida- 
blanca  suffered  disastrous^  eclipse ;  the  slowl)'-healing 
wounds  of  a  nation  rent  by  uncontrolled  passions,  by  a 
long  course  of  wretched  despotism,  by  moral  evils 
without  name  or  number,  were  torn  open  again  ;  favor- 
itism reigned  supreme ;  an  imbecile  sat  on  the  throne ; 
and  a  weak,  passionate,  and  criminal  Italian  queen 
scandalized  Europe  by  the  open  profligacy  of  her 
morals. 

Charles  IV.  was  already  forty  years  of  age  at  his 
accession  (1788),  and  physically  was  a  singularly  hand- 
some and  stately  specimen  of  kingship.  His  good- 
nature and  absolute  ignorance  permitted  the  reins  of 
government  to  glide  imperceptibly  into  the  hands  of 
Maria  Louisa,  princess  of  Parma,  his  wife,  —  a  clever, 
inventive,  ambitious,  and  voluptuous  Machiavelli  in 
petticoats,  who  made  of  tlie  palace  a  den  of  vice,  and 
ruled  the  country  with   a  rod  of  iron.     Ploridablanca 

604 


^      -tS?'  4^    *  Sift      i-  *•     '.ifpn     «   ;•  (h 

i'    A;  I'h 


IN    THE    CHURCH    Ui 


.»      .-..»-•     .^j,..     I    ii.Arv,     .-i.^K.ALiUSi.V. 


CHAPTER    XXV., 

THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  —  REIGNS  OF  CHARLES 
IV.  AND  FERDINAND  VIL 

THE  twenty  years  between  the  death  of  Charles 
HI.  and  the  abdication  of  his  ignoble  son,  in  1808, 
form  one  of  the  most  dismal  episodes  of  Spanish  his- 
tory. The  brilliant  eminence  to  which  Spain  had  gradu- 
ally attained  under  Campomanes,  Aranda,  and  Florida- 
blanca  suffered  disastrous  eclipse  ;  the  slowly-healing 
wounds  of  a  nation  rent  by  uncontrolled  passions,  by  a 
long  course  of  wretched  despotism,  by  moral  evils 
without  name  or  number,  were  torn  open  again  ;  favor- 
itism reigned  supreme ;  an  imbecile  sat  on  the  throne ; 
and  a  weak,  passionate,  and  criminal  Italian  queen 
scandalized  Europe  by  the  open  profligacy  of  her 
morals. 

Charles  IV.  was  already  forty  years  of  age  at  his 
accession  (1788),  and  physically  was  a  singularly  hand- 
some and  stately  specimen  of  kingship.  His  good- 
nature and  absolute  ignorance  permitted  the  reins  of 
government  to  glide  imperceptibly  into  the  hands  of 
Maria  Louisa,  princess  of  Parma,  his  wife,  —  a  clever, 
inventive,  ambitious,  and  voluptuous  Machiavelli  in 
petticoats,  who  made  of  the  palace  a  den  of  vice,  and 
ruled  the  country  with   a  rod  of  iron.     Floridablanca 

604 


lA     lilt    <_111K<.U    Ut     ULK    LAl;V   DEL    I'lLAK,    SAKAGUSbA. 


m 


Decency  Lost. 


607 


and  his  companions  soon  retreated  into  the  back- 
ground; in  1790  the  great  minister  found  himself  com- 
pelled to  give  up  the  portfolio  of  justice ;  Count 
Cabarrus,  a  zealous  and  successful  promoter  of  re- 
forms, was  arrested;  and  Don  Caspar  Melchor  de 
Jovellanos,  the  noblest  patriot,  profoundest  thinker, 
and  most  eminent  writer  that  Spain  had  produced  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  was  removed  from  his  influen- 
tial position  at  Madrid  and  banished  to  the  Asturias. 
Campomanes  fell  in  1791,  and  was  succeeded  by  a 
feeble  creature  of  the  court. 

Thus  the  influence  of  the  queen  had  extinguished 
every  spark  of  decency  and  respectability  that  still 
illumined  this  tempestuous  court.  The  government 
became  the  sport  of  chaotic  caprice.  Decrees  promul- 
gated to-day  were  revoked  to-morrow.  Lawlessness, 
arbitrary  power,  intrigue  reigned  in  the  palace  and 
throughout  the  kingdom.  The  mighty  murmurs  of  the 
revolution  over  the  Pyrenees  were  unheeded,  or  mis- 
understood, with  idiotic  obtuseness  or  complacency. 
Spain  and  her  vast  colonial  empire  lay  exposed  to  the 
ravages  of  France  and  England.  The  monstrous  mis- 
government  so  transformed  the  land,  that  in  a  few 
years  the  prosperous  Spain  of  Ferdinand  VI.  and 
Charles  III.  w^as  hard  to  recognize.  Thousands  of 
greedy  fingers  hunted  in  the  treasury.  Whole  towns 
and  provinces — as  in  Galicia  in  1790 — were  in  rebel- 
lion for  months,  without  any  one  being  able  to  bring 
them  to  order.  Even  Floridablanca  had  his  head 
turned  by  the  "  French  madness,'*  —  the  horror  of  in- 
novation, hatred  of  foreigners,  and  revolution,  —  and 
became  a  dark  reactionist  and  progress-hater.      The 


608 


Reign  of  Charles  IV, 


foreign  policy  of  Spain  was  a  mass  of  ridiculous  errors 
and  inconsistencies.      Recalled  to   power  in   1792,    it 
seemed    as   if    Floridablanca,    deep    as    his    dread    of 
French  radicalism  had  made  him  sink  in  the  slums  of 
reaction,  would  reorganize  and  restore  the  country,  and 
govern  with  the  power  and  intelligence  he  had  shown 
under   Charles   III.      But  he  was  removed  the  same 
year,  a  victim  of  the  furious  accusations  of  the  queen. 
His  rival,  Aranda,  the  representative  of  the  Aragonese 
party  of  progress,  peace,   and  French  ideas,   took  his 
place,  and  was  intended  by  the  queen  to  pave  the  way 
for  her  frivolous  favorite,  Manuel  Godoy,  —  a  young 
officer  whom  she  adored,  made  a  "grandee  of  the  first 
class,"  and,  to  the  scandal  of  the  aristocracy,  visited  in 
his  own  palace.    "The  grandees  grumbled,  and  — crept 
to  the  feet  of  the  favorite."     Aranda  was  graciously 
dismissed  at  the  end  of  the  year,  and  Godoy,  now  duke 
of  Alcudia,  took  the  control  of  the  ministrv  as  secre- 
tary  of  state  for  foreign  affairs. 

It  was  fortunate  for  the  French  revolution  that,  at 
the  period  when  it  broke  out,  a  set  of  kings  sat  on  the 
various  thrones  of  Europe  about  as  effective  as  a 
chorus  of  Aristophanic  frogs.  In  this  the  revolution 
found  its  justification.  Frederic  the  Great  had  been 
followed  by  Frederic  William  II. ;  Leopold  II.  by  Kaiser 
Franz;  Charles  III.  of  Spain  by  Charles  IV.;  and 
George  III.  of  England  was  to  be  revealed  to  the 
world  by  the  glowing  pen  of  Miss  Burney.  How  dif- 
ferently might  the  course  of  the  revolution  have  fash- 
ioned itself,  had  it  found  opponents  of  the  greatness  of 
Frederic  II.,  the  wisdom  of  Leopold,  and  the  quiet 
dignity  of  Charles  III !      In  Spain,  rooted  as  she  was 


Confusio7i  and  Despotism, 


609 


in    century-old    adoration   of    her   reforming   Bourbon 
kings,  four  years— 1 788-1 792  — sufficed  to  extinguish 
the  last  recollection  of  the  beneficent  works  of  three 
generations;  and  with  the    shadow  of  Aranda  whole- 
some progress,  the  enlightenment  of  the  people,   the 
revival  of  agriculture  and  industry,  the  purification  of 
legislation,  the  protection  of  lawful  freedom,  the  con- 
trol of  officials,  and  the  establishment  of  the  authority 
of  the  government,  passed  away,  and  left  behind  only 
confusion,  despotic  power,  unmitigated  license,  a  throng 
of  hateful  lickspittles,  and  the  depraved  spectacle  of 
an  obscene  queen  and  her  lover.     So  low  did  Spain 
sink,  that  the  revolutionary  convention  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  her  pressing  desire  for  the  mitigation  of  the  fate 
of  Louis  XVI. 

The  murder  of  the  most  Christian  king  by  a  godless 
mob  produced  an  extraordinary  sensation  in  Spain,  and 
the  land  rang  with  cries  of  vengeance,  from  Cadiz  to  Bar- 
celona.    The  queen  gave  way  to  tears;  the  king  swore; 
Godoy  spoke  like  a  hero ;  Catalonia,  Andalusia,  Valen- 
cia, Galicia  stormed  the  throne  with  their  impassioned 
petitions  for  war  against  the  regicides,  —  and  nothing 
was  done.     Spain,  with  intense  loyalty  and  love  of  the 
dynasty,  rose  as  one  man,  with  an  enthusiasm  really 
sublime,  —  grandees,  beggars,  clergy,  bankers,  corpora- 
tions, —  and    demanded   vengeance    on    the    Bourbon 
massacrers.      What  an   incomparable   opportunity  for 
the  young  duke  and  the  queen  to  atone  for  the  past, 
satisfy  the  great  claims  of  the  present,  secure  a  worthy 
future  for  themselves  and  the  faithful  nation  who,  with 
such    touching   and  unreserved   confidence,    thronged 
round  the  throne  and  supplicated  their  even  stili  be- 


11^. 


610 


Reign  of  Charles  IV. 


loved  rulers  to  lead  them  against  the  hosts  of  French 
terrorism ! 

But  nothing  was  done  either  towards  a  restoration  of 
the  Bourbon  dynasty  in  France  or  an  extension  of  the 
Spanish  possessions.  Held  in  check  by  the  united 
powers  of  Austria,  England,  Prussia,  and  Spain,  in 
1793,  the  revolutionary  armies  remained  for  a  while 
stationary;  and  Godoy  let  the  priceless  opportunity 
slip,  at  the  cost  of  eight  hundred  and  sixty  millions  of 
reals  in  the  first  six  months  of  the  war,  while  exposing 
the  boasted  Spanish  prowess  to  the  ridicule  of  Europe. 
The  foaming  excitement  of  the  people  died  away,  and 
was  succeeded  by  a  deep  depression  at  the  prospect  of 
an  endless  war  which  would  complete  the  financial  ruin 
of  the  land.  The  French  inundated  Guipuzcoa  and 
Navarre ;  several  all-important  frontier  fortresses  capit- 
ulated ;  the  valleys  of  Upper  Catalonia  were  thick  with 
enemies.  Incompetent  generals,  ruined  finances,  a 
worthless  soldier}^  plunged  the  loyal  and  credulous 
nation  into  despair.  A  conspiracy  was  discovered  in 
June,  1794,  whose  object  was  the  downfall  of  the  cor- 
rupt Godoy,  to  whose  criminal  ambition,  incapacity, 
and  baleful  influence  on  the  queen  the  humiliation 
and  demoralization  of  Spain  were  attributed.  The 
royal  residence  soon  swarmed  with  symptoms  of  revolu- 
tionary smypathies,  due  to  the  eloquence  of  the  royal 
immorality,  the  French  pamphlets  and  proclamations,' 
and  to  the  hopeless  bewilderment  caused  by  rumors  of 
a  hostile  march  on  Madrid.  The  flight  of  the  king's 
family  from  Madrid  to  Seville  was  spoken  of  in  1794. 
Between  1795  and  1802  Spain  became  virtually  a  vassal 
of  her  powerful  neighbor.     The  queen,  at  first  an  enthu- 


d^  «X   A.  *     AA.V^«kA^A.> 


610 


Reign  of  Charles  IV. 


loved  rulers  to  lead  them  against  the  hosts  of  French 
terrorism ! 

But  nothing  was  done  either  towards  a  restoration  of 
the  Bourbon  dynasty  in  France  or  an  extension  of  the 
Spanish  possessions.  Held  in  check  by  the  united 
powers  of  Austria,  England,  Prussia,  and  Spain,  in 
1793,  the  revolutionary  armies  remained  for  a  while 
stationary;  and  Godoy  let  the  priceless  opportunity 
slip,  at  the  cost  of  eight  hundred  and  sixty  millions  of 
rea/s  in  the  first  six  months  of  the  war,  while  exposing 
the  boasted  Spanish  prowess  to  the  ridicule  of  Europe. 
The  foaming  excitement  of  the  people  died  away,  and 
was  succeeded  by  a  deep  depression  at  the  prospect  of 
an  endless  war  which  would  complete  the  financial  ruin 
of  the  land.  The  French  inundated  Guipuzcoa  and 
Navarre ;  several  all-im])ortant  frontier  fortresses  capit- 
ulated; the  valleys  of  Upper  Catalonia  were  thick  with 
enemies.  Incompetent  generals,  ruined  finances,  a 
worthless  soldiery,  plunged  the  loyal  and  credulous 
nation  into  despair.  A  conspiracy  was  discovered  in 
June,  1794,  whose  object  was  the  downfall  of  the  cor- 
rupt Godoy,  to  whose  criminal  ambition,  incapacity, 
and  baleful  influence  on  the  queen  the  humiliation 
and  demoralization  of  Spain  were  attributed.  The 
royal  residence  soon  swarmed  with  symptoms  of  revolu- 
tionary smypathies,  due  to  the  eloquence  of  the  royal 
immorality,  the  French  pamphlets  and  proclamations,' 
and  to  the  hopeless  bewilderment  caused  by  rumors  of 
a  hostile  march  on  Madrid.  The  flight  of  the  king's 
family  from  Madrid  to  Seville  was  spoken  of  in  1794. 
Between  1795  and  1802  Spain  became  virtually  a  vassal 
of  her  powerful  neighbor.     The  queen,  at  first  an  enthu- 


Jl^AVA^.^  a^. 


A    A     \_«<  » 


G-odoy  Overthroiv7i. 


613 


siastic  adherent  of  the  war-party,  was  in  a  few  months 
transformed,  by  the  defeat  of  the  Spanish  arms,  into  as 
enthusiastic  an  adherent  of  peace.     Godoy  resolved  to 
seek  relations  with  the  republic ;  too  late,  however,  to 
avoid  exposing  to  France  and  England  the  disintegra- 
tion going  on  in  the  provinces,  and  the  powerlessness 
of  the  omnipotent  favorite.     One  shameful  overthrow 
after  another  annihilated  Godoy's  forces  in  Catalonia, 
while  he  buried  himself  in  a  whirl  of  giddy  dissipations 
and  extravagance.     The  conclusion  of  peace  at  Basel 
in  July,  1795,  —  signed  by  Godoy  a  year  after, — ac- 
companied by  favorable  conditions  (evacuation  of  th^ 
territory   by   the   French,    intimate   alliance   with    the 
republic,  and  the  cession  to  France  of  the  Spanish  side 
of  San  Domingo),  gave  universal  content.     Godoy  bore 
off  triumphantly  the  title  of  "  Prince  of  Peace,"  sup- 
ported   by  gifts    of   the  richest  state   domains;  while 
Aranda,  Floridablanca,  Cabarrus,  and  Jovellanos,  who 
had  been  languishing  in  exile  or  prison,  were  recalled 
or  released. 

The  peace  of  Basel,  so  far  as  Spain  was  concerned, 
was  a  bit  of  sublime  farce.  What  it  really  established 
was  not  the  glory,  but  the  absolute  dependence  of  the 
peninsula  on  the  republic.  In  this  it  was  happily  aided 
by  the  inimitable  frivolity  of  the  Prince  of  Peace ;  and 
its  consequences  were  the  gradual  annihilation  of  the 
naval  power  of  the  country,  the  undermining  of  its  im- 
mense colonial  network,  and  the  complete  wreck  of  the 
finances.  What  compatibility  could  there  be  between 
their  Catholic  majesties  —  the  most  absolute  type  of 
Bourbons  —  and  the  revolutionary  French  republic,  at 
the  very  moment  red  with  the  gore  of  the  Bourbons 


614 


Charles  IV. 


themselves?.  The  treaty  of  San  Ildefonso,  as  the 
Spaniards  call  it,  was  both  a  literal  repetition  of  the 
Family  Compact  of  1761,  and  in  many  not  unessential 
points  —  being  both  offensive  and  defensive — went 
beyond  that  celebrated  defensive  alliance. 

The  battle  of  Cape  St.  Vincent,  in  February,  1797, 
between  the  English  and  Spanish  fleets  off  the  south 
point  of  Portugal,  resulted,  in  spite  of  the  immense 
superiority  of  the  Spaniards  in  ships  and  artillery,  in 
the  defeat  of  their  fleet,  and  contributed  more  than  any- 
thing else  to  the  ruin  of  the  Spanish  marine.  The 
English  swept  the  Mediterranean,  Atlantic,  and  Carib- 
bean. The  colonies,  which  had  thriven  so  wonderfully 
under  the  tranquil  despotism  of  the  corregidores  and 
Jesuits  began  to  ignite  from  the  revolutionary  sparks 
thrown  off  by  the  mighty  volcano  in  France.  English 
intriefue  sealed  the  doom  of  the  colonies,  and  sowed 
seed  of  discord  and  discontent,  soon  to  bear  abundant 
fruit.  The  vicious  and  despotic  administration  of 
Godoy  crowned  the  anarchy  of  the  Indies  and  Sierras. 
Between  1793  and  1796,  the  total  income  was  twenty- 
four  hundred  and  forty-five  millions  of  reals ;  the  total 
expenses,  thirty-seven  hundred  and  fourteen  millions, 
leaving  a  debt  of  over  twelve  hundred  millions.  Paper 
money  to  the  amount  of  nineteen  hundred  and  eighty 
millions  was  already  in  circulation.  The  deficit  in  one 
year  amounted  to  eight  hundred  millions  of  reals. 

A  galling  satire  which  rang  like  a  clarion  through 
the  country  after  the  battles  of  San  Vincent  and  Trin- 
idad, depicts  the  matchless  confusion  of  the  times.  It 
stated  that  Spain  had  generals  enough  to  command  the 
armies  of  the  world,  innumerable  regiments  and  ships, 


li' 


A  Satiric  Picture. 


615 


but  no  soldiers  or  sailors.  There  were  more  churches 
than  houses,  more  priests  than  burghers,  more  altars 
than  kitchens  in  the  capital.  Even  in  the  filthiest 
nooks  and  darkest  holes  of  vice,  saints,  waxen  figures, 
censers  and  lamps  abounded.  At  every  step  one  ran 
against  a  pious  fraternity,  a  procession,  or  a  gang  of 
penitents  telling  their  beads.  The  wealth  of  decrees 
and  declarations  was  inexhaustible,  but  justice  was  no- 
where to  be  found.  Laws  flew  out  of  the  Castilian  man- 
ufactory before  you  could  say  amen.  The  affirmation 
of  an  ancient  statute  cost  a  lawsuit  of  a  century.  The 
judges  hung  twenty  citizens  in  one  day,  and  disputed 
twenty  years  before  they  would  take  a  mule  from  a 
wagon.  Every  spot  had  its  municipal  code,  its  local 
taxes,  its  own  statutes.  It  was  bliss  indeed,  to  arrive 
saturated  and  chilled,  at  a  Spanish  inn,  and  then  be 
obliged  to  seek  one's  meal  among  the  grotesque  multi- 
tude  of  shopkeepers  alone  authorized  to  sell,  the  one 
wine,  the  second  oil,  a  third  meat,  a  fourth  salt.  A  skin 
of  must  or  a  bushel  of  oats  could  not  be  obtained 
without  laborious  search  for  the  individuals  alone  privi- 
leged by  the  municipality  to  deal  in  these  things.  Mis- 
chievous superstition,  incurable  vice,  universal  laziness, 
monumental  pride  —  such  are  the  chords  which  thrill 
harshly  through  the  work  of  the  clever  and  pitiless 
author,  whose  intimacy  with  all  the  details  of  public  and 
private  life  was  undoubted.  The  ungovernable  passion 
of  his  countrymen  for  bull-fighting  is  stigmatized.  If 
Rome  was  content  with  bread  and  amphitheatres,  Mad- 
rid was  content  with  bread  and  bulls.  The  mean  Eng- 
lishman, the  unbelieving  Gaul,  spoil  day  and  night  with 
their  dangerous   political    controversies;   the   precious 


616 


Charles  IV, 


Spaniard  lives  in  sweet  ease,  and  —  delightful  fasting. 
T/iey  quarrel  a  month  until  they  get  a  law  passed ;  we 
have  thousands  of  laws  ready  in  a  trice  without  the 
trace  of  a  contradiction.  T/ieir  gums  are  too  fastidious 
for  cream;  we  swallow  thistles  with  rapture.  T/iey 
sting  like  bees  when  they  are  being  robbed  of  their 
honey ;  7ve  are  sheared  and  slaughtered  as  patiently  as 
sheep.  They,  insatiable  of  riches  and  happiness,  live 
like  slaves  of  trade  and  industry ;  we  are  content  and 
proud  in  poverty  and  beggary.  77iej^  deify  freedom 
and  consider  a  single  link  of  the  slave-chain  an  intoler- 
able burden ;  we  carry  a  whole  chain  in  ignorance  of 
what  freedom  is.  Heroes  with  them  are  rare  ;  heroes 
with  us  shoot  up  like  leeks  and  onions. 

Such  is  the  essence  of  this  famous  but  faithful  dia- 
tribe attributed  to  the  historian  Vargas  Ponce,  and  giv- 
ing an  all  too  conscientious  revelation  of  this  cancer- 
eaten  society. 

The  liberal  tendencies  which  began  to  be  shown  by 
the  government  culminated,  in  1797,  in  the  temporary 
banishment   of    the    inquisitor-general    and   the   arch- 
bishops of  Toledo  and  Seville,  on  the  discovery  of  a 
plot  to  overthrow  the  favorite,  and  transfer  him  to  the 
dungeons   of   the   clerical   party.      Jovellanos   was  re- 
called   to    the    department   of   justice    in    1797.     The 
plundering  of  Rome  in   1798  by  the   French,  and  the 
proclamation  of  a  republic  instead  of    the  papal  tyr- 
anny, plunged  the  country  into  profound  apprehension, 
and  rendered  Godoy,  who  had  now  espoused  a  daughter 
of  the  Infante  Don  Luis,  more  abject  a  dependent  of 
the  all-overshadowing  republic  than  ever. 

To  crown  the  scandal,  the  republic  demanded  his  dis- 


616 


Charles  IK 


Spaniard  lives  in   sweet  ease,  and  —  delightful  fasting. 
T/iey  quarrel  a  month  until  they  get  a  law  passed ;  we 
have  thousands   of  laws  ready  in   a   trice  without  the 
trace  of  a  contradiction.     JV/c/r  gums  are  too  fastidious 
for   cream ;   we  swallow    thistles    with   rapture.      T/iey 
sting  like  bees  when   they  are   being  robbed  of  their 
honey  ;  7ife  are  sheared  and  slaughtered  as  patiently  as 
sheep.     T/iey,  insatiable  of  riches  and  happiness,  live 
like  slaves  of  trade  and  industry ;  we  are  content  and 
proud  in    poverty  and    beggary.      IViey  deify  freedom 
and  consider  a  single  link  of  the  slave-chain  an  intoler- 
able burden ;  we  carry  a  whole   chain  in  ignorance  of 
what  freedom  is.     Heroes  with  them  are  rare  ;  heroes 
with  us  shoot  up  like  leeks  and  onions. 

Such  is  the  essence  of  this  famous  but  faithful  dia- 
tribe attributed  to  the  historian  Vargas  Ponce,  and  giv- 
ing an  all  too  conscientious  revelation  of  this  cancer- 
eaten  society. 

The  liberal   tendencies  which  began  to  be  shown  by 
the  government  culminated,  in  1797,  in  the  temporary 
banishment   of    the    inquisitor-general    and    the    arch- 
bishops of  Toledo  and   Seville,  on  the  discovery  of  a 
plot  to  overthrow  the  favorite,  and  transfer  him  to  the 
dungeons   of   the   clerical    party.      Jovellanos   was  re- 
called   to    the    department    of   justice    in    1797.     The 
plundering  of  Rome  in   1798   by  the   French,  and  the 
proclamation  of  a  republic  instead  of    the  papal  tyr- 
anny, plunged  the  country  into  profound  apprehension, 
and  rendered  Godoy,  who  had  now  espoused  a  daughter 
of  the  Infante   Don  Luis,  more  abject  a  dependent  of 
the  all-overshadowing  republic  than  ever. 

To  crown  the  scandal,  the  republic  demanded  his  dis- 


wn  Tufn">  Mi  *«ir  Hi 


G-odoy  and  Napoleon. 


619 


missal  as  prime-minister  in  the  same  year.  The  humors 
of  the  queen,  flickering  hither  and  thither  Uke  a  wind- 
blown light,  systematically  bewildered  and  humiliated 
the  government  in  its  whole  attitude  towards  France. 
One  minister  succeeded  another  as  in  the  beginning  of 
the  reign ;  the  cabinet  became  a  miserable  compound 
of  irreconcilable  elements.  The  infamous  avarice, 
illiberality,  and  fanaticism  of  Don  Jose  Caballero  in 
the  ministry  of  justice,  were  found  side  by  side  with  the 
passionate,  anti-clerical  radicalism  of  Urquijo  in  the 
foreign  office  and  finances. 

The  relative  independence  of  the  Madrid  cabinet  at 
this  period  was  ended  by  the  successful  return  of  Bo- 
naparte from  Egypt,  the  ruin  of  the  Directory,  and  the 
elevation  of  the  first  consul.  Godoy  was  formally  re- 
stored to  power  as  a  tool  of  Napoleon,  and  a  treaty 
between  the  two  countries  was  signed  in  1801,  by  which 
Napoleon's  fervent  desire  to  grapple  with  England  by 
means  of  the  Spanish  fleet  was  gratified.  In  January, 
the  same  year,  Lucien  Bonaparte  and  the  Spanish  suc- 
cessor of  Urquijo,  Cevallos,  signed  a  treaty  whose 
basis  was  a  common  operation  against  Portugal.  But 
the  Spanish  court  obstinately  refused  to  take  part  in 
the  invasion  and  spoliation  of  its  neighbor,  more  par- 
ticularly as  the  queen's  favorite  daughter.  Dona  Carlota, 
was  the  wife  of  Don  Joa,  Prince-Regent  of  Portugal ; 
and  the  queen,  refusing  to  aggrandize  Spanish  Amer- 
ica at  the  expense  of  Portugal  and  its  possessions,  was 
indefatigable  in  working  for  peace.  This  attitude  was 
maintained  until  Bonaparte  assumed  the  supremacy. 
War  then  broke  out ;  Portugal  was  overwhelmed  by 
fifteen  thousand  French,   and  sixty  thousand   Spanish 


620 


Charles  IV, 


soldiers  with  Godoy  as  generalissimo,  and  the  little 
kingdom  was  partially  dismembered.  After  this  "  war 
of  oranges  "  Godoy,  swelling  with  heroic  pride,  exulted 
in  being  compared  with  Frederic  the  Great. 

After  ten  frightful  years  of  war,  Europe  by  the  peace 
negotiations  of  Amiens  in  1802,  enjoyed  a  brief  spell 
of  tranquillity.     Spain  was  fortunate  enough  to  enjoy 
nearly  three   years  of  neutrality,  though   nothing  was 
essentially  advanced  by  it.     The   land,  both  in  peace 
and  war,  was  the   slave  of  Napoleon  and  Talleyrand. 
The  sums  which  the  military  operations  had  not  swal- 
lowed up  were  squandered  by  the  extravagance  of  the 
court  or  by  the  uncurbed  greed  of  the  minions  with 
whom  Godoy  peopled  every  branch  of  the  administra- 
tion.    The  six  years  between  1802  and  1808  were  years 
of  infamy,  of  profound  criminality  on  the  part  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace,  perpetually  coquetting  with  Napoleon 
and  dreaming  of  an  independent  sovereignty  in  Portu- 
gal, and  of  shameless  squabbles  in  the  royal  family. 
The  mere  mention  of  an  honest  meeting  of  expenses 
created  a  paroxysm  of  disgust,  terror,  and  indignation 
in  the  palace.      Three  years  before  (1799),  the  paper 
money  had  fallen   forty  per  cent,    in   value,    and   the 
appalling  news  circulated  that  a  new  emission,  to  the 
amount  of  ten  hundred  and  sixty  million  reals,  was  to  be 
made  in  April  of  the  same  year.     Of  the  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  twenty-three  millions  expended  in  1799,  the 
palace  swallowed  one  hundred  and  five  millions,  justice 
seven  (!),  war  nine    hundred   thirty-five,   finance   four 
hundred  and  twenty-eight,  foreign  affairs  forty-six,  the 
navy  three  hundred.     In  October,  1802,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  marriage  of  the  prince  of  the  Asturias,  fifty-seven 


Louisiana  Sold. 


621 


field  marshals,  twenty-six  lieutenants  general,  and  hun- 
dreds of  colonels  were  named.  The  navy,  which 
counted  only  fifteen  seaworthy  ships  of  the  line  and 
frigates,  swarmed  with  honorary  officials  on  enormous 
salaries.  Godoy's  annual  revenues  ran  up  to  one  mil- 
lion r^^/j— more  than  all  the  judges  of  the  kingdom. 
The  pestilence,  failure  of  harvests,  famine,  and  earth- 
quake, added  to  the  gloomy  horrors  of  this  epoch  of 
distraction  (1800). 

The  immorality  of  the  governing  authorities  gave  an 
infinity  of  details  to  the  general  misery.     The  peace 
with  England,  after  the  treaty  of  Amiens,  left  behind 
its  remembrance,  in   a  debt  of  four  thousand  millions. 
By  the  treaty  of  1800,  Spain  had  ceded  Louisiana  to 
France,  on  condition  that   France  would  agree  not  to 
cede  it  thereafter  to  any  other  power  than  Spain.     Bon- 
aparte, however,  falling  into  financial  straits,  impudently 
sold  it  to  the  United   States  for  eighty  million  francs,  . 
without  even  informing  Spain.      The  miserable  dallying 
of  Godoy  with  France  and  England,  now  again  at  war, 
resulted  in  a  threat  on   Bonaparte's   side,  of  planting 
eighty   thousand   Frenchmen   in    the   heart   of    Spain. 
Hence   the   ignominious   treaty  of    1803  with    France 
which  rendered  war  with  England  unavoidable,  cast  a 
mountain  of  responsibility  on  the  peninsula,  yoked  the 
Spanish  exchequer  to  a  dismal  monthly  contribution  of 
six  million  francs,  and  exceeded  infinitely  the  stipula 
tions  of  1796. 

The  year  1805  buried  the  relics  of  the  once  glorious 
Spanish  fleet  in  the  seas  of  Cape  Finisterre  (July  22), 
and  Trafalgar  (October  20).  The  emperor  simply  sent 
his  orders  to  Madrid  and  the  Spanish  ports.     Disobe- 


622 


Charles  IV. 


dience  was  a  crime.  The  art  of  paying  salaries  had 
for  thirty-three  months  been  forgotten  in  Spain.  And 
yet,  this  noble  people  still  glanced  with  idolatrous  de- 
votion up  at  the  illumined  and  divinely-appointed  being 
whom  it  recognized  as  its  king.  The  word  "  majesty  " 
still  thrilled  through  the  Spaniard  with  the  holiest  shud- 
der of  his  loyal  heart.  Add  to  this,  *'  Catholic,"  the 
miraculous  touch  of  the  healing  and  universal  church, 
and  the  foundations  of  Spanish  patriotism  were  even 
yet  intact  in  the  reverence  of  the  masses. 

French  diplomacy  began  in  1801  to  enhance  and 
utilize  the  natural  indignation  of  the  young  prince  of 
the  Asturias  against  the  favoritism  of  the  palace.  Fer- 
dinand's dark  and  resolute  character  had  already,  in 
1 79 1,  created  the  fear  that  the  heir  of  the  Indies  might 
eventually  turn  out  another  Philip  II.  His  mother 
hated,  Godoy  dreaded,  him  ;  and  the  audacious  thought 
had  even  entered  Godoy's  mind  to  push  aside  the 
hereditar}'  prince,  and,  in  the  eventuality  of  Charles's 
death,  get  himself  and  the  queen  appointed  regents  of 
the  realm.  The  queen-mother  was  even  accused  of  twice 
frustrating  the  hopes  of  her  pregnant  daughter-in-law, 
and  in  1806,  of  poisoning  her.  The  same  year  found 
Europe  covered  with  vassal  kings  of  Napoleon ;  Italy, 
Germany,  Holland,  were  presented  to  his  brothers  or 
his  brothers-in-law,  or  his  allies.  Spain  and  Portugal 
remained  ;  and  when  Godoy  found  that  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand's character  put  an  impassable  obstacle  in  the  way 
of  his  ambition  in  Spain,  he  turned  his  attention  to 
Portugal,  actually  feeling  the  crown  on  his  head  when 
the  French  troops  received  orders  to  march  on  Portugal 


Treaty  of  Fontainebleau. 


623 


—  a  crown  of  thorns  to  be  obtained  from  the  hands  of 
the  great  emperor  who  hated  and  despised  him. 

The  capture  of  Buenos  Ayres  by  the  English  --  a  city 
which  dominated  the  South  American  domains  as  far  as 
the  Cordilleras  —  threatened  to  revolutionize  America. 
Godoy,  infinitely  tickled   by  being  called  Man  Cousin 
by  Napoleon,  felt  himself  ready  to  do  anything  for  the 
almighty  Olympian  who  now  thundered  his  commands 
from   distant   Warsaw.     Junot's   columns   crossed   the 
Spanish  frontier  in   1806,  and  the  treaty  of  Fontaine- 
bleau, signed  by  Duroc  on  the  part  of  the  French,  and 
by  Izquierdo  on  the  part  of  Spain,  completed  the  con- 
spiracy against  Portugal.    This  treaty  dismembered  that 
kingdom  and  made  three  states  of  it,  one  of  which  was 
to  be  Godoy's. 

The  factions  of  the  Escorial  broke  out  anew  in  dis- 
graceful scenes.     Ferdinand,  now  a  widower,  reduced 
to  despair,  sought  help  of  Napoleon,  and  begged  the 
honor  of   allying   himself    with  an   imperial   princess. 
For  years,  it  was  said,  no  post  of  importance  had  been 
given  at  the  palace,  unless  the  wife  or  the  daughter  or 
the  sister  of  the  applicant,  was    handed   over  to   the 
prime-minister.     Ferdinand    knew   this;    and   yet    his 
helplessness  made  his  position  still  more  difficult.     He 
was  suddenly  arrested,  deprived  of  his  sword,  and  shut 
up  in  his  room  under  a  charge  of  treason ;  but  his  con- 
fession and  profound  penitence  secured  his  pardon. 

In  November,  Junot  overran  much  of  Portugal  and 
the  royal  family  fled  to  Brazil.  Dupont  and  Moncey 
followed  him,  the  first  with  twenty-four  thousand,  the 
second   with    twenty-five    thousand   Frenchmen;    who 


f 

i 
j; 


624 


Charles  IV. 


entered  Spain  without  giving  the  least  notice  to  the 
authorities. 

Ferdinand's  popularity,  meanwhile,  had  risen  in  1807 
in -the  same  proportion  as  the  hatred  of  the  populace 
against  the  queen  and  Godoy.  The  reorganization  of 
the  universities  by  the  Prince  of  Peace,  in  1807,  had 
undeniable  merits  ;  but  with  these  admirable  reforms, 
he  infuriated  the  clergy  and  the  hidalgos  by  proposing 


'fl'i/-^ 


Godoy. 


to  utilize  some  of  the  enormous  possessions  of  both ;  and 
it  was  said  that,  while  the  people  were  starving,  he  had 
stolen  five  or  six  hundred  millions  of  reals  out  of  the 
treasury  and  the  pockets  of  his  subordinates.  Monks  and 
preachers  painted  his  godlessness  in  the  foulest  colors, 
and  circulated  the  most  hideous  narratives  concerning 
their  majesties :  the  queen,  who  in  the  palace  had  a 


Napoleon's  Popularity, 


627 


seraglio   arranged   like  the  Turks'  and  Moors',  wanted 
to  marry  Godoy  and  poison  the  king;  the  king  was  in 
love  with   Pepita  Tudo,  Godoy's  "double  wife;"  and 
Godoy  compensated  himself  by  Pepita's  younger  sister. 
The  wondrous  popularity  of  Napoleon  had  even  pen- 
etrated the  Pyrenees,  and  was  identifying  itself  in  Spain 
with  the  cause  of  Ferdinand  and  liberation.     Consider- 
ing the  European  relations  since  1805,  it  seemed  an 
almost  inexplicable  anomaly  that   Spain  should  have 
been  treated  by  Napoleon  with  such  indulgence.    Italy, 
Germany,   the   Netherlands,   Austria,    Prussia,  Russia 
had  felt  his  powerful  hand  and  been  forced  into  new 
paths :  Spain  alone  for  twenty  years  had  seemed  hardly 
to  perceive  the  universal  tempest.     The  French  troops 
had  stood  on  the  Ebro  in  1795,  with  Castile  fully  de- 
fenseless  before   them,   and   they  had   evacuated   the 
country   without   the   cession  of   a  village.      In   1801 
Godoy  had  roused  the  utmost  fury  of  Bonaparte  ;  1802 
and  1803,  conspired  with  England  and  Naples  in  the 
most  insulting  manner;  and  in  1806,  believing  in  the 
invincible  spirit  of   the   Prussian   army,  had  issued  a 
warlike  proclamation  against  the  distant  emperor;  and 
he  had  always  succeeded  in   supplicating  pardon  from 
the  most  contemptuous  despot  in   Europe.     But  none 
of  the  states  subject  to  the  Corsican  had  done  so  little, 
none  might  have  done   so  much,   for  Napoleon  ;  and 
now  that  the  whole  Napoleonic  policy  was  concentrated 
in   the  intense  desire   to  humiliate   England,  and  the 
solution  of  this  paramount  problem  wholly  depended 
on  the  possession  of  a  suitable  fleet,  he  began  to  turn 
his  eyes  slowly  in  the  direction  of  the  peninsula,  and 
slowly  to  evolve  his  mighty  plans  of  conquest. 


628 


Chaides  IV. 


But  the  unconquerable  difficulties  arising  froni  the 
peculiarity  of  the  Spanish  monarchy,  its  composition, 
the  stubborn  and  haughty  character  of  the  people,  the 
nature  of  the  country,  and  the  singular  confusion  be- 
tween religion  and  patriotism  always  existing  in  the 
Spanish  mind,  and  lashing  it  to  fury  on  the  least  insult 
from  a  stranger,  had  hardly  escaped  the  transcendent 
clairvoyance  of  his  glance.  From  1801  he  had  busied 
himself  more  than  once  with  Spanish  things.  The 
immense  successes  of  the  year  1807,  leaving  him  free 
to  avenge  the  insults  he  had  suffered  from  Godoy ;  his 
knowledge  of  the  discords  in  the  royal  household ;  the 
prayers  and  protestations  of  father,  son,  and  favorite ; 
and  the  absolute  necessity  of  bendmg  England,  ■—:  all- 
urged  him  to  the  marshalling  of  his  myriads  on  the 
Spanish  frontier.  Hence  the  order  to  General  Dupont 
to  assemble  an  army  of  twenty-five  thousand  mert  for 
the  expedition  into  Spain. 

The  two  corps  of  Dupont  and  Moncey  seemed  to 
him,  in  1808,  sufficient  for  the  coup  intended  against 
the  centre  of  Spain ;  other  divisions  were  gathered  from 
Italy  and  Germany,  and  planted  at  the  foot  of  the 
Pyrenees  to  cover  these.  The  enigmatical  designs  of 
the  emperor  filled  Charles  IV.  with  anguish  and  anx- 
iety ;  but  they  were  plain  to  anybody  from  November, 
1807 :  he  wanted  to  be  lord  of  Spain  as  he  had  become 
lord  of  Italy.  The  passion  of  the  conqueror  blinded 
him :  Charles  was  a  fool,  a  coward,  a  hen-pecked,  con- 
temptible bigot ;  Ferdinand  was  a  hypocrite,  an  igno- 
ramus, a  lazy  and  faithless  wire-puller;  everybody 
knew  Godoy  was  a  scoundrel,  the  queen  a  hag:  would 
it  not  be  easy  to   descend  with   irresistible  might  on 


• 


G-overnment  Paralyzed. 


629 


such   a   mass  of  incompetency,   scatter  it  to  the  four 
winds,  and  install  some  scion  of  the  Napoleons  on  the 
throne  of  St.  Ferdinand  ?    Junot  had  already  solemnly, 
by  imperial  decree,  deposed  the  house  of  Braganza  at 
Lisbon,  and  laid  upon  the  land  a  contribution  of  one  hun- 
dred million    francs.     The  French  troops  of  the  north 
began  to  advance  from  Burgos  and  Valladolid  toward 
Segovia  and  Aranda,  in  the  very  heart  of  Spain.     The 
conscription  of  1809  was  about  to  raise  his  giant  army 
to  nine  hundred  thousand   men.     The  Spanish  govern- 
ment, too,  as  if  paralyzed  or  indifferent,  made  no  sharp 
protest,  nor  took  any  measures  whatever  for  the  military 
security  of   the  country,   either  of    which  might  have 
given  the  eagle-eyed  emperor  precisely  what  he  wanted, 
—  an  excuse  for  a  fierce  and  downright  proclamation 
of  war. 

Murat,  therefore,  was  sent  off  in  all  haste  to  Bay- 
onne,  that  he  might  betake  himself  thence  to  Madrid 
at  the  head  of  the  advancing  columns  ;  the  Spanish 
government  all  the  time  fancying,  or  pretending  to 
fancy,  that  Napoleon's  object  was  simply  to  strengthen 
the  Mediterranean  and  other  ports  threatened  by  the 
English!  French  troops  poured  into  Spain  through 
the  Basque  Provinces,  the  Pass  of  Roncesvalles,  on 
Pampelona,  and  into  Catalonia,  where  General  Du- 
hesme  installed  himself,  at  Barcelona,  in  February. 
The  fortresses  commanding  the  north  were  soon  en- 
tirely in  the  hands  of  the  French. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 
REIGN   OF  FERDINAND  VII. 

AS  if  by  a  flash  of  lightning,  an  intimation  of  Na- 
poleon's intentions  seemed  to  be  at  last   con- 
veyed to  these  obtuse  Bourbon  consciousnesses.     The 
royal  family  prepared  for  flight.     Immense   agitation 
shook  the  peninsula  at  the  deeds  of  violence  perpe- 
trated by  the  invaders  in  Navarre  and  Catalonia.     The 
whole  responsibility  was  shifted  on  the  hated  govern- 
ment ;  for  either,  as  it  was  said,  its  accursed  ambiguity 
of  action  had  forced  the  former  ally  to  his  evil  meas- 
ures, or  it  was  voluntarily  surrendering  the  very  bul- 
warks of  Spanish  independence  to  the  cunning  enemy. 
The  French,  meanwhile,  were  moving  on  Madrid,  — 
with  peaceful  intentions  all  the  while  !     Godoy  and  the 
queen  resolved  to  fly  from  the  royal  residence  of  Aran- 
juez,  —  a   sort   of  Spanish  Fontainebleau,   filled  with 
exquisite  gardens,   fountains,   and  palaces  ;    when  the 
people,  hearing  of  it,  broke  out  into  frenzy,  threw  them- 
selves on  Godoy's  hotel,  ruined  the  luxurious  furniture, 
dashed  the  windows  to  pieces,  threatened  to  kill  him, 
and  compelled  the  king  to  dismiss  the  odious  minister. 
Charles  IV.,  in  a  paroxysm  of  terror,  abdicated  on  the 
19th  of  March,  1808,  and  on  the  plea  of  "ill-health," 
and  to  the  boundless  enthusiasm  of  the  populace,  an- 

630 


Murat  at  Madrid, 


631 


nounced  Ferdinand  VII.  as  his  successor.  An  era  of 
universal  happiness  seemed  about  to  dawn,  for  was  not 
the  martyr  Ferdinand  king  t  was  not  Godoy  deposed 
and  about  to  be  executed  ?  and  the  imbecile  kins:  and 
the  termagant  queen  forever  relegated  to  private  life  ? 
And  the  two  thousand  millions  of  Godoy's  stolen  prop- 
erty would  largely  pay  the  national  debt ! 

Murat,  even  when  a  few  miles  from  Madrid,  knew  no 
more  of  Napoleon's  intentions  than  one  of  his  own 
subordinate  generals;  and  he  had  hitherto  begged  un- 
availingly  for  enlightenment.  His  own  passionate  am- 
bition was  to  be  made  king  of  this  beautiful  and  wealthy 
realm ;  would  it  be  fulfilled  } 

The  queen  meanwhile  had  bitterly  rued  the  prema- 
ture abdication  of  her  easily  intimidated  and  easily 
governed  husband.  She  now  began  a  series  of  in- 
trigues with  Murat,  crying  for  help  against  her  "  rebel- 
lious "  son.  Murat  surprised  Ferdinand  by  recognizing 
only  Charles  IV.  as  king,  of  Spain,  though  the  lovely 
spring  day  on  which  the  new  monarch  made  his  tri- 
umphal entry  into  Madrid  showed  Murat  the  population 
in  a  state  of  indescribable  joy  and  unanimity  over  his 
accession,  while  the  nation  almost  to  a  man  hailed  him 
as  a  deliverer.  Forty  thousand  French,  now  in  the 
metropolis,  began  to  maintain  a  menacing  attitude, 
under  shelter  of  whom  Charles  recalled  his  "  forced  " 
abdication,  and  the  queen  and  her  daughter  described 
their  son  and  brother  to  the  foreign  general  as  the 
blackest  ingrate  and  schemer. 

Now  came  the  opportunity  for  Napoleon.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  alluring  first  Ferdinand,  then,  a  few  days 
after,  his  father,  mother,  and  their  faithful  "  Manuel " 


632 


Reign  of  Ferdinand  VII. 


(Godoy),  to  Bayonne,  holding  out  to  them  the  prospect 
of  a  vague  settlement,  the  necessity  of  an  interview, 
consuhations  over  what  was  to  be  done  for  Spain,  etc. 
With  incredible  complacency  both  parties  —  now  mortal 
rivals — fell  into  the  net.     A  government  so  long  con- 
sisting simply  of  the  prime  minister  could  not  be  hard 
to  frighten.     Difficult  indeed,  however,  was  the  manipu- 
lation of  this  haughty  people,  who  felt  themselves  out- 
raged, degraded,  scandalized  to  the   core  by  the  un- 
seemly  haste   of  the  unhasting  Spanish   majesties  to 
throw  themselves  into  the  arms  of  the  magnificent  up- 
start.    Ferdinand  was  expostulated  with.     It  was  of  no 
avail  :  he  rushed  on  his  fate  like  a  true  Bourbon,  and, 
once  across  the  frontier,  was  treated  by  Napoleon  with 
one  indignity  after  another.     He  was   forced  —  some 
say  under  fear  of   death  —  to  abdicate;    Charles  IV. 
was   reinstated,  but   refused   obstinately  to   return   to 
Spain  ;  and  for  the  pitiable  mess  of  pottage  of  a  French 
palace  and  a  sum  of  money,, surrendered  his  birthright 
of  the  immemorial  crown  of  Hispania  to  the  truculent 
invader. 

By  this  time  the  2d  of  May  —  date  ever  memorable 
in  the  annals  of  the  peninsula — had  dawned  on  the 
people  of  Madrid,  where  2i  junta  composed  of  grandees 
and  dignitaries  represented  the  Spanish  government,  so 
shamefully  abandoned  by  its  kings.  The  effort  to  en- 
tice the  remaining  members  of  the  royal  family  to  Bay- 
onne filled  the  huge  masses  of  peasantry,  who  had 
flocked  to  the  capital  to  witness  the  Sunday  parade  of 
the  imperial  guard,  with  deep-murmuring  indignation. 
A  collision  ensued:  then  a  frightful  massacre  of  the 
innocent  spectators ;  then  for  a  week  all  the  corpora- 


i)i\oviL/i;<     Oiii^xixi-xtij,    1  xww  V  J-.'*  wx.    \j&     .ai^a.VA. 


632 


Reign  of  Ferdincmd  Vll. 


(Godoy),  to  Bayonne,  holding  out  to  them  the  prospect 
of  a  vague  settlement,  the  necessity  of  an  interview, 
consultations  over  what  was  to  be  done  for  Spain,  etc. 
With  incredible  complacency  both  parties  —  now  mortal 
rivals — fell  into  the  net.     A  government  so  long  con- 
sisting simply  of  the  prime  minister  could  not  be  hard 
to  frighten.     Difficult  indeed,  however,  was  the  manipu- 
lation of  this  haughty  people,  w^ho  felt  themselves  out- 
raged, degraded,   scandalized   to  the    core  by  the  un- 
seemly  haste   of  the  unhasting  Spanish   majesties  to 
throw  themselves  into  the  arms  of  the  magnificent  up- 
start.    Ferdinand  was  expostulated  with.     It  was  of  no 
avail  :  he  rushed  on  his  fate  like  a  true  Bourbon,  and, 
once  across  the  frontier,  was  treated  by  Napoleon  with 
one   indignity  after  another.     He   was    forced  — some 
say  under  fear  of   death  —  to  abdicate;    Charles  IV. 
was    reinstated,  but    refused    obstinately  to    return    to 
Spain  ;  and  for  the  pitiable  mess  of  pottage  of  a  French 
palace  and  a  sum  of  money,  .surrendered  his  birthright 
of  the  immemorial  crown  of  Hispania  to  the  truculent 
invader. 

By  this  time  the  2d  of  May  —  date  ever  memorable 
in  the  annals  of  the  peninsula — had  dawned  on  the 
people  of  Madrid,  where  Tnjufita  composed  of  grandees 
and  dignitaries  represented  the  Spanish  government,  so 
shamefully  abandoned  by  its  kings.  The  effort  to  en- 
tice the  remaining  members  of  the  royal  family  to  Bay- 
onne filled  the  huge  masses  of  peasantry,  who  had 
flocked  to  the  capital  to  witness  the  Sunday  parade  of 
the  imperial  guard,  with  deep-murmuring  indignation. 
A  collision  ensued :  then  a  frightful  massacre  of  the 
innocent  spectators ;  then   for  a  week  all  the  corpora- 


iiAbyoij    SAiiji.'jjii:.xviy,    L  iwj  \  L^\,tLA    \ji:     ^irAVA. 


•1 

■A 


Depression, 


685 


tions  of  the  overawed  city  did  homage  to  Murat  as 
governor-general  of  the  empire.  Spain  was  being  prop- 
erly reduced  to  order! 

Did  not  Charles  IV.,  with  his  newly  obtained  civil 
list  of  thirty  millions  of  reals, —  "with  the  integrity  of 
his  empire  maintained,"  "  the  Roman  Catholic  Apostolic 
religion  alone  tolerated  in  Spain,"  "  the  prince  whom 
the  emperor  shall  place  on  the  vacant  throne  independ- 
ent,"—  shiver  in  his  imperial  palace  of  Compiegne 
as  he  watched  these  things?  And  Ferdinand?  who, 
for  his  pretty  behavior  in  so  gracefully  abdicating,  had 
pocketed  an  income  of  1,100,000  francs,  and  was  to  be 
entertained  by  the  Talleyrands  at  Chateau  Valen^ay, 
with  theatre,  comedians,  the  possibility  of  an  intrigue 
with  some  joliefiUe^  attached. 

The  powerful  fleet — 76  ships  of  the  line  and  51 
frigates  —  of  the  time  of  Charles  III.  had  been  suf- 
fered to  fall  to  pieces ;  the  absolutely  worthless  govern- 
ment had,  during  Charles  IV.'s  twenty  years'  reign, 
added  but  5  ships  of  the  line  and  12  frigates  to  the  fleet, 
in  1808  !  And  of  these  many  were  unseaworthy.  The 
condition  of  the  arsenals  and  navy-yards  was  deplor- 
able. The  army,  nominally  120,000  strong,  really 
amounted  to  only  60,000  with  which  to  oppose  Napo- 
leon ;  and  there  were  under  the  generalissimo  5  cap- 
tains-general, 87  lieutenants-general,  127  field-marshals, 
252  brigadier-generals,  and  2,000  colonels! 

As  for  finances,  there  were  none.  The  state  debt 
amounted  at  this  period  to  more  than  seven  milliards 
of  reals,  but  one-third  of  which  was  due  to  earlier  gov- 
ernments. And  the  Castiles  had  lost  one-third  of  their 
population  by  epidemics  and  famines. 


636 


Reigji  of  Ferdinand    Vll, 


Such  was  the  gift  which  the  "grand  pioneer  of  new 
forms  of  life,  the  consummator  of  God's  revolutionary 
judgments  on  ancient  Europe,"  was  about  to  make  to 
his  eldest  brother,  Joseph,  then  king  of  Naples,  with 
the  pretended  sanction  of  the  representative  bodies  of 
Spain. 

It  is  undeniable,  however,  that  the  ripest  and  most 
honest  conviction  of  many  of  the  most  distinguished 
Spaniards  inclined   to  the  emperor,  nauseated  as  they 
were  with  the  paternal  charivari  of  the  Bourbons,  now 
as  loathsome  as  the   dynasty  of    Habsburgers.      The 
mighty   mass    of    the   people,    however,  —  that   deep, 
slumbering,    loyal,    long-sulTering    mob,  —  shrieked    at 
the  brutal  despotism  of  the  emperor,  at  last  awake  to 
the  enormous  responsibilities  of  the   hour.     Not  since 
the  Arabian  invasion  had  flooded  the  land  from  Cadiz 
to  the  Asturias,  under  Taric,  had  such  an  invasion  im- 
pended.    The  noblest  men  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
like  Campomanes  and  Jovellanos,  were  Asturians ;  and 
out  of  the  Asturias,   for  the   second  time,  the  tide  of 
resistance  was  to  flood,  before  which  the  hitherto  resist- 
less conqueror  was  to  bend.     The  Asturians,  piercing 
the    impenetrable   veil    that   hung   over  the  emperor's 
projects,   sprang  to   arms   in    May,  1808,  and  declared 
solemn  war  on  Napoleon.     A  single  week  sufficed  to 
transform  the  whole  of  Spain,  from  the  Cantabrian  Sea 
to  the  Bay  of  Cadiz,  and  from  the  Ocean  to  the  Medi- 
terranean, into  a  sea  of  flame. 

Of  the  hundred  and  fifty  deputies  called  by  Napoleon 
to  Bayonne,  to  give  national  sanction  to  Joseph's  pre- 
tensions and  draw  up  a  constitution,  only  ninety-one  ap- 
peared.    The  gentle  and  accomplished  Joseph  loathed 


Joseph  Bonaparte. 


637 


the  idea  of  forcing  himself  on  a  gallant  people ;  but, 
overwhelmed  by  the  prayers  and  reproaches  of  his  broth- 
er, he  yielded,  and  hoped  to  win  the  hearts  of  his  new- 
subjects  by  kindness,  intelligence,  and  good  government. 
In  July  he  set  off  from  Bayonne  with  his  new  constitiition 
in  his  pocket,  —  doubtless  a  great  improvement  on  pre- 
existing ones.  Engagements  with  the  insurgents  took 
place  almost  simultaneously.  Saragossa  underwent  its 
first  brilliant  siege  with  sublime  heroism,  and  was  fired  to 
the  loftiest  pitch  of  exaltation  by  the  valor  of  the  two- 
and-twenty-year-old  Maid  of  Saragossa ;  and  its  success- 
ful resistance  worked  indescribably  on  the  rest  of  Spain. 
The  defeat  of  the  Spaniards  at  Rio  Seco  greatly  de- 
lighted Napoleon. 

Joseph,  who  had  now  entered  Madrid,  found  his  posi- 
tion  every  day  becoming  more  desperate,  amid  a  popu- 
lation   absolutely   untamable.     A    French  army  under 
Marshal  Moncey  was  beaten  back  from  Valencia;  an- 
other under  Uupont  and   Reding,  plunging  too  deeply 
into  Andalusia   in   its   efforts   to   protect   the    French 
squadron   lying  at  Cadiz,  capitulated  to  Castanos,  at 
Baylen,  July  2 1,  1808,  to  the  number  of  more  than  seven- 
teen thousand  men.     Joseph  fled  instantly  from  his  cap- 
ital of  a  week,  followed  by  not  a  soul  of  his  two  thou- 
sand domestics.     At  Burgos  he  took  breath,  while  the 
news  made  the  emperor  writhe  with  fury.     "I'll  send 
you  Ney  and  one  hundred   thousand   men,  and   in  the 
autumn  Spain  shall  be  ours !  " 

But  it  took  six  tempestuous  and  irretrievable  years 
before  not  Spain,  but  Bonaparte,  was  conquered  ! 

How  bitterly  Joseph  repented  exchanging  "  les  doux 
loisirs  du  trone  de  Naples,"  for  that  Madrid  where,  even 


638  Spain  under  Joseph  Bonaparte, 

as  king,  it  was  said  that  his  dreaded  brother  reigned  a 
hundred  times  more  than  he  did  !  And  nine-tenths  of 
his  kingdom  was  in  rebellion,  while  the  French  generals 
who  had  captured  Barcelona,  Burgos,  and  Vittoria, 
were  virtually  the  prisoners  of  their  conquest. 
.  In  Portugal,  the  arrival  of  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  in 
July,  1808,  at  the  head  of  ten  thousand  English,  gave  a 
nucleus  about  which  the  insurrection  could  gather,  —  a 
movement  due  to  the  luminous  foresight  of  Canning, 
who  saw  that  Spain  must  be  England's  battle-ground  in 
this  struggle  of  giants.  Reinforcements  from  England 
soon  raised  his  troops  to  thirty  thousand.  The  over- 
throw of  the  French  af  Vimeiro,  August,  1808,  com- 
pelled Junot  to  sign  the  convention  of  Cintra,  by  which 
the  French  army  was  compelled  to  evacuate  Lisbon  and 
Portugal,  though  with  all  the  honors  of  war.  The  invinci- 
ble legions  were  defeated  ;  the  beginning  of  the  end  was 
at  hand  ;  the  colossal  pride  of  Napoleon  was  humbled. 
He  resolved  himself  to  come  to  Spain  and  superin- 
tend the  vast  military  operations  he  was  about  to  inau- 
gurate against  the  twelve  or  fifteen  local  and  even  mu- 
tually hostile  governments  then  existing  in  that  country. 
The  supreme y//;//<^  sat  at  Aranjuez  under  the  presidency 
of  Floridablanca.  Sir  John  Moore  was  now  the  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  English  forces  in  Portugal.  The 
Spaniards  had  a  foretaste  of  Napoleon  in  the  bonfires 
of  Burgos, — fed  by  the  furniture  and  musical  instru- 
ments of  the  city ;  while  the  emperor  himself  crossed 
the  Guadarramas  and  descended  on  Madrid,  where  he 
arrived  on  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Austerlitz, 
December  2,  1808.  By  several  successive  decrees  he 
abolished  the  Inquisition,  suppressed  the  lines  of  cus- 


Napoleon  in  Spain. 


689 


tom-houses  that  separated  the  provinces,  and  formed  the 
great  obstade  to  the  unity  of  the  peninsula,  and  with  a 
stroke  of  his  pen  annihilated  the  feudal   rights  which 
were  the  basis  of  the  power  of  the  grandees.     Joseph 
had  returned  to  Madrid  among  other  impedhnenta,  and 
imagined  himself  now  firmly  seated  on  his  throne,  more 
especially  as  Blake  had  been  defeated  in  the  North. 
Sir  John  Moore  was  defeated   and  slain  in    1809,  by 
Soult,  at  the  battle  of  Coruna,  and  the  Spanish  armies 
fled  right  and  left  before  the  serried  masses  of  the  French. 
In  January,  1809,  the  emperor,  impelled  by  the  arma- 
ments of  Austria  and  the  apprehension  of  a  continental 
war,  quitted  Spain,  leaving  the  incapable  Joseph  "camp- 
ing  rather  than  reigning  at  Madrid."     The  wondrous 
second  siege  of  Saragossa  in  1809,  conducted  for  the 
Spanish  by  the  heroic  Palafox,  and  for  the  French  by 
Lannes,  a  siege  lasting   fifty  days,  during  which  one- 
third  of  a  garrison  of  forty  thousand  were  placed  hors  de 
combat  and  the  twelve  thousand  that  surrendered  pre- 
ferred prison  to  the  service  of  Joseph  —  gave  the  gentle- 
hearted   king   another  taste  of   that   bitter  disillusion 
which  he  had  all  along  been  poignantly  expressing  to 
his  mother.     And  Palafox,  dragged   half  dead  to   the 
dungeon  of  Vincennes,  symbolized  the  unbending  spirit 
of  the  people. 

The  same  year  (1809)  saw  Soult's  unsuccessful  expe- 
dition to  Portugal,  —  a  disaster  due  largely  to  the  un- 
changeable plans  of  the  emperor,  who,  five  hundred 
leagues  from  the  scene  of  action,  insisted  that  his  plans 
of  campaign  should  be  executed  ;  and  to  disobey  was 
worse  than  to  be  defeated. 

More  fatal  than  all,  dazzled  by  the  hope  of  planting 


640  Spain  under  Joseph  Bonaparte. 

his  victorious  eagles  in  Lisbon,  he  had  left  Spain,  after 
his  brief  and  triumphant  campaign,  in  the  hands  of  eight 
or  nine  ambitious  and  irreconcilable  generals ;  Soult 
in  Portugal,  Victor  at  Merida,  Jourdanat  Madrid,  Mortier 
and  Suchet  in  Aragon,  Saint  Cyr  at  Barcelona,  Keller- 
mann  at  Valladolid,  Bonnet  in  Biscay,  and  Lapisse  at 
Salamanca, —  between  whom  bitter  rivalries  existed ;  who 
each,  perhaps,  hankered  after  independent  principalities  ; 
and  who  could  with  difficulty,  if  at  all,  be  brought  to 
act  together  on  a  concerted  plan.  Strangest  of  all,  the 
emperor  was  in  profound  error  as  to  the  disposition  of 
the  inhabitants,  who,  he  curiously  enough  thought,  would 
*'aid  the  French  in  suppressing  the  insurrection." 

Wellesley  now  commanded  in  Portugal;  Carvajal,  La 
Cuesta,  and  La  Romana  commanded  the  three  Spanish 
armies  of  the  centre,  west  and  north,  while  there  were 
innumerable  groups  of  insurgents  without  commanders. 

The  gross  vanity,  incapacity,  and  carelessness  of 
Soult  were  no  match  for  the  clear  vision  and  cold 
manoeuvering  of  Wellesley.  Portugal  was  miserably 
lost  for  France,  and  a  fatal  blow  dealt  by  the  check  to 
the  morale  and  discipline  of  its  armies.  The  second 
Andalusian  expedition  of  1809-10  was  more  mischiev- 
ous in  consequences  than  the  first.  Soult,  lately  so  dis- 
honorably driven  by  the  English  from  Oporto,  was 
named  generalissimo  of  the  three  armies  of  Galicia, 
Portugal,  and  old  Castile,  and  became,  in  the  absence 
of  the  emperor,  the  real  king  of  Spain.  In  the  great 
battle  of  Talavera  (July,  1809),  the  advantage  ultimately 
remained  on  the  side  of  the  allied  armies.  In  the 
Andalusian  movements,  though  Cordova,  Seville,  and 
Granada  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  they  were 


LA  FUENTE  DEL  CISNE  (FOUNTAIN  OF  THE  SWAN),  MADRID. 


Wellington  at  Lisbon, 


648 


open,  indefensible  cities,  while  Cadiz,  the  key  of  Anda- 
lusia in  a  military  and  political  sense,  escaped.  From 
hence,  as  once  from  the  remote  corners  of  Galicia  and 
Asturias,  the  regeneration  of  Spain  was  to  come. 

The  third  French  expedition  to  Portugal,  under  Mas- 
sena,  shattered  against  Wellington's  impregnable  lines 
of  Torres  Vedras  —  one  of  the  most  gigantic  works 
ever  executed,  covering  five  hundred  English  square 
miles  of  surface,  and  consisting  of  a  triple  series  of 
enormous  fortifications,  defended  by  six  hundred  can- 
non, the  object  of  which  was  to  protect  the  approaches 
to  Lisbon.  This  was  the  third  time  that  Wellington 
had  purged  Portugal  of  the  presence  of  French  soldiers. 
The  assembling  of  the  national  cortes  in  September, 
1810,  at  Cadiz,  was  of  supreme  importance,  and  its 
installation  terminated  the  mission  of  the  regency  pre- 
viously in  office  as  the  highest  tribunal  of  the  country. 
General  Blake,  Admiral  Ciscar,  and  Captain  Agar, 
were  named  the  successors  of  the  former  five  regents. 
Though  the  yellow  fever  raged  in  the  city,  the  cortes 
refused  to  abandon  it,  and  in  18 12  effected  its  capital 
work,  the  "Constitution  of  1812." 

This  constitution  inaugurated  representative  govern- 
ment in  Spain,  abolished  torture,  the  Inquisition,  and 
most  of  the  convents,  founded  the  liberty  of  the  citizen 
and  the  press,  and  improved  the  judiciary.  The  seign- 
orial  rights  attached  to  thirteen  thousand  three  hundred 
and  nine  out  of  the  twenty-five  thousand  three  hundred 
and  twenty  villages  of  the  peninsula  were  abolished, 
and  though  the  nine  thousand  men's  convents  of  1626 
had  fallen  to  two  thousand  and  fifty  in  1808,  these  were 
considerably  reduced.     But  unfortunately  this  brilliant 


: » 


it' 


644  Spain  under  Joseph  Bonaparte, 

constitution  died  even  before  it  was  born,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  an  absolute  monarchy  which  utterly  crushed 

The  military  operations  of  the  years  1810-12,  con- 
ducted by  Soult  against  Badajoz,  Victor  and  Marmont 
against  Cadiz,  and  Saint  Cyr  and  Suchet  in  Catalonia 
and  Valencia,  employed  a  force  of  four  hundred  thousand 
P>ench,  and  might  have  resulted  in  the  entire  conquest  of 
Spain,  had  not  Napoleon,  now  (1812)  intent  on  his  cel- 
ebrated Russian  campaign,  withdrawn  many  troops  from 
Spain,  and  thereby  hopelessly  weakened  his  prospects 
in  that  countrv. 

Under  such  circumstances  beating  Wellington  and  a 
nation  almost  immeasurably  endowed  with  patience, 
enthusiasm,  and  power  of  resistance,  —  a  nation  that 
had  fought  the  Moors  for  a  thousand  years  and  were 
fully  equal  to  fighting  Napoleon  and  his  marshals  for 
six,  —  was  impossible.  Wellington's  genius  triumphed 
brilliantly  in  the  great  battle  of  Salamanca,  July,  1812  : 
Joseph  evacuated  Madrid  in  haste  and  retired  to  Valen- 
cia;  the  treacherous  Soult  withdrew  from  Andalusia 
(August,  1812);  and  the  two  and  a  half  years'  siege 
of  Cadiz  was  raised. 

Though  Joseph  returned  for  a  brief  space  to  Madrid, 
the  year  18 13  saw  the  evacuation  of  Spain  by  the 
enemy.  Wellington,  now  generalissimo  of  the  Spanish 
armies,  won  the  famous  battle  of  Vittoria  in  June,  1813, 
over  King  Joseph,  and  ended  almost  at  a  blow  the  dis- 
mal tragedy  which,  really  begun  in  1807  by  ihe  inva- 
sion of  Portugal,  was  rendered  utterly  abortive  by 
this  last  disaster  in  18 13.  Annexation  of  the  Ebro 
provinces,   as    the  Spanish   frontier  of  France,  was  a 


Bourbons  Restored, 


645 


dream  no  longer  to  be  realized.  The  French  were  in 
full  retreat,  flowing  torrent-fashion  through  that  Pass  of 
Roncesvalles,  which  in  Charlemagne's  time  had  proved 
so  fatal  to  their  countrymen.  Eighty  thousand  men 
remained  of  the  four  hundred  thousand  that  had  been 
poured  into  this  bottomless  pit  of  blood. 

Returning  to  Paris  in  1813,  the  emperor  began  nego- 
tiations with  the  prisoner  of  Valengay,  with  whom  a  treaty 
was  signed  December  11,  1813.     Joseph  was  deposed; 
Ferdinand  was  reinstated.     In  18 14  a  double  restor- 
ation took  place,  in  France  and  in  Spain,  of  the  ancient 
Bourbon   dynasty — a  dynasty  whose   characteristic  it 
was,  never  to  understand  the  necessities  of  the  times 
nor  the  instincts  of  the  countries  it  had  to  rule.     Louis 
XVIII.  in  France,  and  Ferdinand  VII.  in  the  peninsula, 
represented   ignobly  enough    the   principle   of    divine 
right  and  passive  obedience.     The  allies  entered  Paris 
in  March,  18 14,  and  the  emperor,  caught  in  an  inextri- 
cable net,  was  a  prisoner  on  the  island  of  Elba. 

On  his  arrival  in  his  dominions  in  March,  18 14,  three 
suggestions  were  made  to  Ferdinand,  relative  to  the 
constitution  of  1812  :  to  swear  to  it,  not  to  swear,  or  to 
swear  with  mental  reservations.  His  perfidious  charac- 
ter prompted  to  the  last. 

The  South  American  colonies  meanwhile  had  not  es- 
caped the  tremendous  political  agitations  then  revolu- 
tionizing Europe.  The  impulse  towards  entire  emanci- 
pation from  the  mother-country  started  in  180S,  and 
was  consummated  in  the  independence  of  Mexico  in 
1829.  It  was  gloriously  shown  that  "  Christopher  Co- 
lumbus had  not  conquered  the  New  World  to  feed  the 
muleteers  of  La  Mancha  and  the  cobblers  of  Castile," 


646 


Ferdinand  Vll. 


The  revolt  broke  out  at  Caraccas,  in  Venezuela  (1810). 
Then  came  the  turn  of  Buenos  Ayres,  at  the  other 
extremity  of  the  continent;  New  Granada,  Paraguay, 
Chili,  Mexico,  with  varying  success.  Bolivar  and  Sucre 
assured  the  independence  of  Peru  in  1824-26.  And 
all  that  kept  that  "  dust  of  republics,  incessantly  swept 
by  the  wind  of  revolution,"  from  unifying  into  one 
huge  South  American  federal  organization,  was  the  im- 
mense and  compact  monarchy  of  Brazil,  flourishing 
anew  under  the  House  of  Braganza. 

In  May,  1814,  —  the  year  of  the  great  congress  of 
Vienna  —  the  last  smothered  cry  of  the  national  cortes 
was  suppressed.  The  deputies  were  arrested;  the 
memorial  stone  of  the  Constitution,  erected  in  the  pub- 
lic squares  of  the  cities,  overturned ;  and  no  trace*  of 
protest  either  from  people  or  army  was  heard.  At  last 
there  was  a  king  again. 

The  day  which  saw  the  liberation  of  the  country 
from  the  yoke  of  the  stranger,  saw  it  almost  hopelessly 

sink  beneath  the  yoke  of  its  well-beloved  king, the 

incarnation  of  cruel,  base,  "  tricky  "  absolutism,  a  vile 
debauchee,  "  beginning  and  ending  in  blood  and  mud." 
The  three  periods  of  Ferdinand's  reign  embrace  the 
six  years,  from  his  return  to  Madrid  in  18 14  to  the  revo- 
lution of  1820,  and  the  resurrection  of  the  cortes  and 
Constitution  of  1812  ;  the  second  extends  from  1820 
to  the  capture  of  Cadiz,  and  the  fall  of  constitutional 
government  in  1823;  and  the  last,  from  1823  to  Ferdi- 
nand's death  in  1833.  The  period  between  1808  and 
18 1 4  was  interrupted  by  exile  and  the  usurpation  of 
Joseph  Bonaparte. 

The  first  period  saw  the  recall  of  the  Jesuits;  the 


S'^-C^ 


BASQUE  PEASANT. 


li^ 


asm,. 


A  Neiv  Despotism. 


649 


^lite  of  Spain,  such  as  Arguelles,  Martinez  de  la  Rosa, 
and  Herreros,  condemned  to  the  galleys;  the  liberal 
constitutional  party  proscribed  ;  the  free-masons  extend- 
ing their  vast  hidden  system  over  the  land  as  a  perma- 
nent conspiracy  against  the  encroachments  of  crown 
and  clergy ;  monarchical,  terrorism  organized,  and  the 
noble  outburst  in  Andalusia  (1820)  headed  by  Riego, 
whose  name,  given  to  the  national  hymn'  has  become 
famous  as  the  synonyme  of  constitutionalism  in  Spain. 

In  March,  1820,  Ferdinand  was  compelled  by  the 
popular  clamor  to  convoke  the  cortes  ;  to  confide  the 
principal  portfolios  to  liberals  drawn  from  the  galleys 
(Herreros,  Perez  de  Castro,  and  the  two  Arguelles) ;  to 
abolish  the  Inquisition  forever ;  to  free  the  press,  and 
to  re-establish  the  national  militia. 

Civil  war  broke  out  in  May,  1822,  and  with  it  came 
misery,  famine,  and  ruin.  The  Holy  Alliance,  led  by 
France,  intervened ;  the  Due  d'AngouIeme,  at  the  head 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men,  entered  the 
peninsula  in  1823,  to  crush  the  insurgents,  restore  a 
"scion  of  Henry  IV.  to  the  throne,"  and  hand  over 
the  devoted  land  to  ten  years  more  of  proscription  and 
torture  with  the  restoration  of  Ferdinand  who,  tempora- 
rily set  aside,  had  been  carried  off  a  prisoner  by  his 
subjects  to  Cadiz. 

Ferdinand  owed  his  second  deliverance  (1823)  to 
France,  as  he  had  owed  his  first  to  England.  The  fall 
of  Cadiz  —  the  liberation  of  the  king  —  endowed  Spain 
with  a  new  despotism  mere  concentrated  than  ever.  At 
Saragossa,  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  fifteen  hundred 
persons  were  cast  into  prison;  death  was  decreed 
against  the  three  constitutional  regents  who  had  been 


650 


Ferdinand  VII. 


appointed  to  govern  the  country  in  his  place  ;  a  secret 
police  sowed  terror  and  dissension  .everywhere.  The 
frightful  atrocities  perpetrated  by  the  king's  order,  on 
the  rebels  of  Catalonia,  were  memorable  even  in  this 
reign  of  rosaries,  blood,  and  voluptuousness. 


'4' 


Ferdinand  VII. 

In  1829,  the  last  of  the  Ferdinands  married  as  his 
fourth  wife  —  he  was  without  heir  —  his  niece,  Maria 
Christina,  daughter  of  the  king  of  Naples  and  sister  of 
the  Duchess  de  Berrv. 

The  finances  of  the  kingdom  were  hopelessly  out  of 
order;  an  annual  expense  of  seven  hundred  million  reals 
could  hardly  be  met  by  an  annual  revenue  of  four  hun- 
dred millions.  The  revolution  of  1830  in  France,  with 
the  expulsion  of  the  Bourbons,  caused  the  intensely  ex- 


A  Question  of  Succession. 


651 


cited  Spaniards  to  desire  their  revolution  of  July  and 
their  citizen  king,  while  Ferdinand,  absolutely  rotting 
on  his  thronfc  with  gout,  debauchery,  superstition,  and 
ferocity,  seemed  but  little  capable  of  resisting,  in  his 
enfeebled  health,  the  stress  and  storm  of  the  times. 
The  question  of  the  succession  now  began  to  occupy 


Maria  Christina. 
the  dying  king.  The  well  known  decree  of  Philip  V. 
in  1 7 13,  transformed  by  cortes  into  the  fundamental 
law  of  the  kingdom,  had  decided  that  women  could 
succeed  only  in  default  of  male  heirs,  not  only  in  the 
direct,  but  in  the  collateral  branches.  The  cortes  of 
1789  abolished    the  Salic  law,  and  was  confirmed   in 


652 


Ferdinand  VIL 


Eternal  Civil  War, 


653 


its  course  by  the  cortes  of  1812,  keeping  in  mind  the 
ever-glorious  reign  of  Isabella  the  Catholic.  In  1830, 
Ferdinand  had  this  law,  —  already  half  a  century  old, 
—  formally  promulgated,  in  anticipation  of  the  pos- 
sible birth  of  a  daughter,  and  that  he  might  exclude 
his  brother  Don  Carlos  and  his  heirs  from  the  succes- 
sion. The  birth  of  Maria  Isabella  II.,  October  18, 
1830,  justified  these  precautions,  though  Don  Carlos, 
born  one  year  before  the  Pragmatic  Sanction  of  1789, 
had  an  absolute  right  to  the  throne  in  default  of  heirs 
male  to  his  brother. 

A  conspiracy  headed  by  Don  Carlos  and  his  "  Apos- 
tolical "  party,  wrenched  from  the  half  unconscious 
monarch,  the  annulling  of  the  Pragmatic  Sanction,  to 
the  intense  indignation  of  the  country,  which  was 
almost  unanimously  for  Christina.  Ferdinand  fortu- 
nately returned  to  himself  and,  urged  by  his  energetic 
sister-in-law,  Charlotte,  revoked  the  consent,  to  the 
horror  of  the  court  party,  the  reactionary  clergy,  most 
of  the  captains-general,  and  the  fanatical  northern 
provinces.  The  young  queen,  made  regent,  became 
immensely  popular  by  her  first  decrees,  which  pro- 
claimed a  general  amnesty  and  re-opened  the  universi- 
ties—  "the  reaction  having  found  no  other  means  of 
preventing  the  revolution  of  July  from  crossing  the 
Pyrenees  than  by  dedicating  Spain  to  ignorance."  A 
period  of  so-called  "enlightened  despotism,"  under 
the  adm.inistration  of  Zea  Bermudez,  set  in.  The 
cortes  reassembled  in  Madrid  in  1833  and  swore  obe- 
dience to  the  queen-regent  and  to  the  infant  queen. 
War  from  that  moment  was  declared  between  the  Chris- 
tinos  and  Carlists —  a  war  which  has  lasted  intermittently 


to  our  times.  In  September,  1833,  Spain  was  deliv- 
ered from  the  most  odious  and  fatal  ruler  that  ever  op- 
pressed and  crushed  a  noble  people  ;  and  the  legacy  he 
left,  was  an  eternal  civil  war. 

The  conspirator  of  the  Escorial ;  the  rebel  of  Aran- 
juez;  the  robber  of  his  father's  crown;  the  worm 
squirming  at  the  feet  of  his  enemy  at  Bayonne ;  the 
captive  of  Valengay,  begging  bits  of  colored  ribbon 
from  Napoleon  while  his  people  were  pouring  out  their 
blood  and  gold  to  give  him  back  his  crown ;  the  jailer 
of  the  illustrious  statesmen  to  whom  he  owed  the  res- 
toration of  that  crown ;  the  perjured  villain,  who  spon- 
taneously engaged  to  be  true  to  the  constitution  of  18 12, 
and  then  conspired  to  overthrow  it  the  day  after  he  had 
sworn ;  the  promoter  of  anarchy  during  the  three  years 
of  constitutional  government ;  the  invoker  of  the  Holy 
Alliance  and  the  intervention  of  France ;  the  author 
of  innumerable  proscriptions ;  the  coarse  voluptuary  : 
Ferdinand  leaves  no  memory  but  that  of  a  man  worthy 
of  our  profoundest  scorn. 


\ 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

THE    REGENCY. -ISABELLA    IL- AMADEUS.-THE 
REPUBLIC  — ALFONSO  XIL 

THE  flocking  of  the  liberals  round  the  popular 
queen-regent  seemed  auspicious  of  happy  conse- 
quences for  Spain.  But  even  before  the  king's  death, 
indefatigable  Carlist  intriguers  were  working  for  Don 
Carlos'  Was  Don  Carlos  or  Isabella  to  succeed ?  As 
the  kin-  up  to  his  last  moment,  had.  done  absolutely 
nothing'to  secure  the  future  of  his  wife  and  infant 
daughter  from  the  horrors  of  an  unending  dispute, 
speculation  was  rife  as  to  the  sovereign  to  come 

Hardly  was  the  breath  out  of  the  body  of  Ferdinand, 
who,  for  seven  years  had  been  subject  to  choking  fits 
wheii  everybody  rushed  to  "  hear  his  will .  Ova  War  J 
Almost  simultaneously  the  Carlists  rose  in  V.zcaya  and 
Alava  ;  the  insurrection  sprang   up  neariy  everywhere 
over  Spain.     A  council  of  regency,  which  represented 
the  liberal  opposition  against  Zea,  was  formed,  whose 
object  it  was  to   assist  the  queen,  carry  on  the  govern- 
men    and  quell  the  insurrection.     The  Carlists,  headed 
ZL  celebrated  parson  qf^Villoviado,  Don  Geronimo 
Merino, -originally  a  goat-herd,  of  inimitable  audacity, 
activitv,  and  a  cruelty  that  shrank  from  no  excess,  -- 
gather'ed  in  great  force  in  old   Castile  ;  but  were  de- 
feated, and  driven  over  the  border  to  Don  Carios.     A 

oo4 


The  Basques, 


Q6^ 


momentary  lull  set  in,  which  it  will  be  well  to  employ 
by  a  slight  characterization  of  the  Basques  and  their 
history,  the  proper  pivot  and  nucleus  of  this  intermin- 
able rebellion. 

The  Basques  occupy  an  isolated  position  both  in  ori- 
gin and  language  among  the  nations  of  Europe.     Not 
only  have   they   preserved    their   hitherto   unclassified 
tongue  with  strange  obstinacy  from  the  earliest  times, 
but  the  popular  life,  the  customs,  the  independence  of 
the  people,  surviving  Romans,  Goths,  and  Arabs,   live 
on  in  undisturbed  vigor  at  the  present  day.     In  the 
great  Habsburg  wars  with  France,  in  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries,  the  Basques  became  the  natural 
guardians  of    the   important  western    frontier   on    the 
Spanish  side.     When  the  Catalans,  at  the  eastern  ex- 
tremity of  the   Pyrenees,  yielded  to  Richelieu's  allure- 
ments, and  threw  off  the  yoke  of  the  Castilians,  it  is 
well  known  that  this   event  contributed   to  the   over- 
throw of  the  general  supremacy  of  Spain.     Had   the 
Basques  in  the  west  acted  similarly,  the  results  might 
have  been   beyond  calculation.     But  as  they  remained 
loyal,  it  appeared  of  little  importance  whether  the  few 
hundred   thousand  mountaineers  paid  more   or  fewer 
taxes,  and  the  Castilians  came  readily  to  grant  the  poor 
mountain  folk  a  privileged  position  in  consideration  of 
the   great   services   they   were   capable    of    rendering. 
Among  their  privileges  was  the  famous    "  nobility  of 
blood,"  according  to  which  all  Basques  were  of  noble 
birth,   and   enjoyed,  both   at  home  and   elsewhere  in 
Spain,  all  the  prerogatives  of  nobility  —  a  privilege  fully 
established  in  their  favor  in  1582,  and  unconditionally 
reaffirmed  by  Philip  III.  in   1608,  to  the  pique  of  the 


656 


Basque  Provmces. 


Castilian  hidalgos.  Far  from  being  satisfied,  however, 
with  their  large  measure  of  local  independence,  they 
gradually  came  to  decline  their  part  of  the  burdens  of 
the  government,  formed  with  their  three  provinces  and 
the  allied  kingdom  of  Navarre  a  sort  of  sovereign  state 
within  the  state,  were  freed  from  the  taxes  exacted  from 
the  other  provinces,  gave  the  monarch  only  voluntary 
gifts,  and  were  exempted  from  the  customs  system  of 
the  realm,  from  regular  recruiting  for  the  army,  and 
from  calling  out  their  troops  except  in  vivid  emergen- 
cies. The  king  was  not  permitted  to  keep  troops  in 
their  land  except  in  certain  towns;  and  the  administra- 
tive and  judicial  organization  of  the  rest  of  the  realm 
was  foreign  to  them. 

Thus  sundered  from  the  rest  of  Spain,  these  four 
provinces  w^ere  no  less  so  among  themselves ;  and  all 
that  held  them  together  at  all,  was  the  moral  bond  of 
their  essentially  similar  fueros.  Every  spot  watched 
with  lynx  eyes  over  its  own  independence  ;  feuds  raged 
between  the  various  villages,  valleys,  and  fraternities ; 
and  everything  moved  within  the  circle  of  a  sharply  de- 
fined indh^iduality  which  formed  the  delight  of  Jean- 
Jacques  Rousseau.  The  constitution  of  Alava,  Guipuz- 
coa,  and  Navarre,  however,  harmonized  essentially  with 
that  of  Vizcaya ;  a  glance  at  the  latter  will  be  tolerably 
applicable  to  the  remainder  of  the  Pyreneean  sister- 
hood. 

The  fueros  of  Vizcaya  were  comprehensively  revised 
in  1452,  1526,  and  1527,  and  recognized  the  reigning 
monarch  not  as  kuig  but  as  lord.  The  government  was 
conducted  by  a  deputation,  two  out  of  whose  three 
members  were  chosen  by  the   popular  assembly,   the 


Basque  Prosperity, 


657 


third  — called  corregidor—h^mg  appointed  by  the  king 
from  among   the  natives   of  the   country.     The  Jutita 
General  v^zs>  the  real  organ  of  the  sovereignty  of  Vizcaya, 
at  which  the  deputies  of  each  place  met  annually  once, 
under  the  venerable  oak  of  of  Guernica.     The  compe- 
tent house-owners  of  pure  Biscayan  blood  had  the  right 
to  choose  the  representative  of  the  town  or  village,  and 
to  instruct  him  for  the  sitting.     Common  interests  were 
discussed  and  decided  as  the  deputies  sat  on  the  bench 
under  the  great  oak,  and  listened  to  the  reports  of  the 
deputation.     The   delegates,   dividing   into   two   parts, 
drew  by  lot  three  electors,  who  then  named  several  per- 
sons among  whom  lots  again  decided  as  to  which  should 
form  the  two  deputies  and  the  six  corregidores,  the  latter 
being  a  committee  of  the  classes,  consisting  of  six  cor- 
regidores  chosen  by  the  popular  assembly  as  an  adjunct 
to  the  deputation. 

The  Basques  had  remained,  fortunately,  free  from  the 
influence  of  the  evil  tendencies  to  which  the  monarchy 
since  Charles  V.   had  gradually  given  way.     The  mis- 
chievous system  of  taxing  food,  and  the  provincial  reve- 
nues, the  suicidal  customs  scheme  existing  between  the 
various  principalities,  and  the  monstrous  corruption  of 
officials  and  judges,  remained  far  from  these  mountains. 
Hence,  agriculture  flourished  in   a  fashion  unknown  to 
Castile ;  the  harbors  were  full  of  ships ;  industrial  en- 
terprise,   mining,    iron-founding,    went    on    vigorously. 
The  valleys  were,  owing  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Pyrenees 
and  the  rich   abundance  of  water,   Edens  of  verdure, 
though  the  mode  of  cultivation  and  the  agricultural  im- 
plements were  of  the  most  primitive  description.     But 
the  rudest  two-wheeled  Basque  wagon,  the  most  antedi- 


3 


658 


Basque  Provinces, 


luvian  laya^  were  preferable  to  the  hopeless  indolence 
of  the  Castilian.  Beggary,  monastery  soup,  the  idle 
filth  of  central  Spain,  were  unknown.  The  loveliness  of 
the  country,  the  industry,  genial  prosperity,  and  noble 
patriotism  of  the  people,  and  the  comfortable  appear- 
ance of  the  towns  and  villages,  roused  the  admira- 
tion of  Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  in  1799.  According  to 
the  census  of  1797,  only  fourteen  hamlets  had  become 
despoblado  or  abandoned,  in  the  Basque  provinces,  —  a 
feature  so  characteristic  of  Spain — while  there  were 
more  than  nine  hundred  of  them  elsewhere.  Manorial 
taxes  did  not  exist  among  the  Basques.  The  home  of 
Loyola  could  not  of  course  be  free  from  monastic  estab- 
lishments ;  but  the  regidar  clerg}^  counterbalanced  the 
monks,  and  schools  flourished  more  than  monasteries. 
While  Absolutism  made  but  rare  and  unsuccessful  at- 
tempts to  subject  the  Basques  to  its  uniform  order, 
Liberalism,  in  the  radical  form  it  assumed  elsewhere  in 
Spain,  was  distasteful  to  them,  especially  as  it  failed  to 
tolerate  these  exasperating  privileges.  Hence,  the 
Basques  were  prepared  to  fight  to  the  death  against  the 
Constitution  of  18 12,  in  support  of  the  independence 
of  their  ancient  fueros.  The  restoration  of  1823  had 
restored  their  privileges,  momentarily  threatened  in 
1820.  The  whole  Basque  land  stood  with  unanimity 
on  the  "servile"  side  as  opposed  to  liberalism.  They 
had  never  suffered  from  the  absolute  king ;  their  clergy 
were  dear  to  them  ;  the  liberals  seemed  to  them  violent 
tyrants,  against  whom  their  immemorial  rights  must  be 
protected,  as  lately  against  the  French.  The  liberal 
party  therefore  had  nowhere  fewer  adherents  than  in 
these  remote  mountains. 


I    •'•1,1      ,  r~ 


t  '-•"•.  -1 


■     V*  ■  ■ 
M,^-::af!.;\ 


b!:;^'^fv     "3 


\vi":. 


-\ 


TWO   LADIES. 

SKETCH   MADE   AT   ALICANTE. 


Don  Carlos, 


661 


Hence,  the  great  influence  which  Don  Carlos  exerted 
in  the  Basque  provinces,  when  it  was  skilfully  sprinkled 
among  the  simple-minded,  liberty-loving  bigots  that 
Don  Carlos  had  always  protected  their  cause  against 
the  arbitrary  abolition  tendencies  of  the  liberals,  that 
to  him  alone  was  due  the  salvation  of  their  fueros.  A 
curious  paradox  was  the  result :  the  freest  and  most 
active-spirited  provinces  of  Spain,  which  reminded  Hum- 
boldt irresistibly,  in  situation,  constitution,  and  vivacity, 
of  the  small  free  states  of  Greece,  became  the  chief 
prop  and  mainstay  of  the  powers  of  darkness,  intoler- 
ance, and  servitude,  that  swarmed  under  the  banner  of 
Don  Carlos ! 

And  the  first  commanding  personality  that  Spain  had 
produced  in  forty  years,  —  Tomas  Zumalacarregui, — 
was,  by  force  of  circumstances,  to  throw  his  genius  into 
the  Carlist  cause  and  prolong  the  death-struggle  of  Old 
Spain  seven  bloody  and  destructive  years. 

Originally  an  officer  in  the  royal  army,  Zumala- 
carregui had  been  forced  by  the  bitter  injustice  of  his 
superiors  to  proclaim  boldly  that  his  sympathies  were 
with  Don  Carlos.  He  became  commanding  general  of 
Navarre,  Guipuzcoa,  and  Vizcaya,  beat  and  baffled  the 
Christinos  in  numberless  conflicts,  and  developed  the 
guerrilla  warfare  into  a  brilliant  science  which  men- 
aced the  very  foundations  of  the  established  govern- 
ment. 

It  would  be  fruitless  to  linger  over  the  myriad  coali- 
tions and  ministries,  the  attacks  of  the  opposition,  the 
intrigues  of  diplomacy,  the  irresolution  of  the  govern- 
ment wherever  and  whenever  tact  and  vigor  were  neces- 
sary to  the  very  existence  of  the  state,  the  excitement 


662 


Christina. 


roused  by  the  scandalous  indecorum  of  the  queen-re- 
gent, the  admonitions  of  foreign  cabinets,  the  dismis- 
sal of  ministers,  all  through  the  ten  years  from  the 
death  of  Ferdinand  to  the  flight  of  Espartero.  The 
one  bright  spot  in  the  early  part  of  Christina's  regency 
was  the  comprehensive  system  of  organization  put  forth 
by  the  great  Spanish  statesman,  Burgos.  Burgos  was  an 
accomplished  student  of  the  policy  of  Campomanes  and 
Jovellanos  ;  his  brain  teemed  with  an  infinite  wealth  of 
knowledge  and  ideas;  his  memorable  "instruction," 
sent  out  to  the  magistrates,  embraced  in  great  and  yet 
practicable  outlines  the  most  important  regulations  con- 
cerning agriculture,  industry,  trade,  mining,  popular 
representation,  general  police,  public  instruction,  eco- 
nomic associations,  irrigation,  forestry-,  weights  and 
measures,  bull-fights,  sanitary  and  prison  reform,  roads, 
canals,  public  libraries,  museums,  theatres,  and  places 
of  popular  amusement.  And  yet,  for  the  moment,  the 
state  possessed  not  a  real  for  the  accomplishment  of  his 
enlightened  measures,  the  universities  having  been 
closed  for  years  ;  whereas,  schools  for  bull-figTiters  had 
been  founded  at  considerable  expense  ! 

Many  of  these  reforms,  however,  went  gradually  into 
effect.  Burgos  succeeded  in  abolishing  the  system  of 
guilds  by  which  the  handworkers  were  oppressed,  the 
wretched  restrictions  under  which  the  once  so  flourish- 
ing sheep,  cattle,  and  wine  culture  was  languishing, 
and  the  senseless  prescriptions  that  hampered  the  free 
sale  of  provisions;  rendered  all  the  professions  and 
handicrafts  honorable  by  opening  to  all  of  them  the 
public  offices  of  the  communities,  and  even  the  doors 
of  the  nobility,  previously  closed  by  the  laws  of  Charles 


HEROES  OF  THE  CARLIST  WAR. 


Imprisonment. 


665 


III. ;  censured  and  restrained  the  passion  for  bull- 
baiting  ;  protected  the  theatre  ;  and  at  a  stroke,  by  his 
decree  reorganizing  the  whole  prison  system,  lifted  his 
land  out  of  the  utmost  savagery  in  this  regard  to  a  level 
with  modern  civilization. 

The  painful  suspense  in  which  the  country  had  been 
kept  for  many  decades  past,  vacillating  as  it  had  been 
between  the  most  dismal  absolutism  and  the  extremest 
liberalism,  and  not  as  yet  arrived  at  any  intelligent  or 
intelligible  freedom,  seemed  about  to  be  closed  by  the 
well-known  Esiatuto  Real^  or  Royal  Statute^  of  April  lo, 
1834.  Though  not  by  any  means  lavish  of  rights  and 
liberties,  this  statute  worked  a  great  progress  in  com- 
parison with  the  state  of  things  that  had  existed  for 
three  hundred  years.  It  excelled  in  very  essential 
points,  in  real  and  permanent  advantages,  the  declama- 
tory and  much-vaunted  Constitution  of  18 12.  It  dis- 
tributed the  powers  in  such  a  manner  between  crown, 
clergy,  nobility,  and  popular  interests,  that  each  seemed 
content  and  had  better  guarantees  than  the  Constitu- 
tion of  181 2  had  offered.  The  cortes  was  to  be  sum- 
moned ;  and  it  was  to  consist  of  two  bodies,  Proceres 
and  Prociir adores.  The  Proceres  ^^x^  constituted  of  the 
higher  clergy,  the  grandees,  prominent  dignitaries  such 
as  ministers,  ambassadors,  generals,  judges,  and  wealthy 
manufacturers,  or  owners  of  real  estate  with  an  income 
of  three  thousand  dollars.  They  held  office  for  life, 
from  the  age  of  twenty-five.  The  president  and  vice- 
president  were  chosen  by  the  king  at  each  meeting  of 
the  cortes.  The  other  house  consisted  of  deputies  with 
an  income  of  at  least  six  hundred  dollars,  and  its  presi- 
dent  and  vice-president  were  likewise  chosen  by  the 


6(j6 


Christina. 


kin-  from  a  group  of   five   selected   by   the   deputies 
themselves.     They  were  elected  for  three  years,  were 
re-eli"ible,  and  must  be  natives  or  inhabitants,  for  at 
least  "two  years  previous,  of  the  province  from  which 
they  came.     The  king  could  summon,  suspend,  or  dis- 
solve cortes,  and  had  to  swear  to  uphold  the  constitu- 
tion and  laws.     The  right  of  petition  was  recognized. 
The  execution  of  the  laws  was  subject  to  the  sanction 
of  the  king  and  the  two  houses.     All  taxes  were  voted 
by  the  cortes, -which  was  called  together  whenever 
deemed  necessary  by  the  king, -on  the  proposal  of 
the  king,  and  cmld  be  imposed  for  not  more  than  two 
years      Reports  from  the  various  ministries  were  re- 
quired.      Dissolution   of   cortes  was  followed   by  the 
re-assembling  of  the  new  one  within  a  year.     Members 
of  both  houses  were  inviolable  so  far   as    concerned 
the  votes  and  opinions  given  in  the  discharge  of  their 

duty.  .  ^   r.i 

The  staiu/e  was  thus  seen  to  contain  most  of  the  requi- 
sites   of    constitutional    government;  its  defects   lay 
more  in  externals,   in  tone,  than  in  essence ;  and  it 
based  itself  happily  on  the  ancient  fundamental  laws  of 
the  kingdom.    The  chief  difficulty  in  its  way  lay  in  the 
abnormal  condition  of  society,  the  irreconcilable  con- 
trasts of  religious  and  secular  opinion,  gready  aggra- 
vated as  they  had  been  by  the  restoration  and  revolu- 
tion   and  the  curious  antagonism   between    the  class 
which  clung  passionately  to  the  moral  and  religious  tra- 
ditions of  the  past,  and  the  class  steeped  in  the  fash- 
ionable French  radicalism  and  emancipation  from  every 
moral  and  religious  bond.     Nowhere  is  this  abnormal 
state  of  things,- are  the  innumerable  wounds  under 


Cholera  at  Madrid, 


667 


which  Spanish  society  was  then  suffering,  —  more 
graphically  dragged  to  the  light  than  in  the  caustic  and 
incisive  pages  of  the  great  contemporary  satirist,  Larra. 

The  Quadruple  Alliance  of  the  same  year,  between 
Spain,  Portugal,  England  and  France,  strengthened  the 
foreign  relations  of  Spain,  and  united,  loosely  enough 
to  be  sure,  the  four  powers  in  their  plan  of  expelling 
Don  Carlos  from  Spain,  and  the  Portuguese  pretender, 
Don  Miguel,  from  Portugal.  Don  Miguel  laid  down 
his  arms,  and  Don  Carlos,  then  in  Portugal,  escaped  to 
England  in  an  English  (!)  ship,  whence  he  speedily  set 
out  in  disguise  for  Spain.  His  arrival  in  Navarre  ex- 
cited immense  enthusiasm  among  his  adherents. 

The  ravages  of  the  cholera  in  Madrid,  1833-4,  mali- 
ciously attributed  to  the  poisoning  of  the  wells  by  the 
monks,  led  to  frightful  massacres  of  these  innocent  per- 
sons, and  showed  the  almost  insane  condition  of  public 
opinion;  for  the  most  intensely  orthodox  of  Catholic 
nations  had,  in  a  paroxysm  of  terror  and  fury,  turned 
upon  the  priests  it  had  so  long  worshipped,  and  threat- 
ened to  root  out  their  very  existence.  The  opening  of 
the  cortes  gave  rise  to  most  unwelcome  revelations  as 
to  the  almost  hopeless  financial  difficulties  of  the  nation, 
—  enormous  debts  incurred,  hundreds  of  millions  de- 
ficit; the  marine  in  pitiable  plight;  public  instruction 
neglected ;  the  great  highways  between  Saragossa  and 
Barcelona,  Seville  and  Madrid,  and  Madrid  and  Irun, 
bridgeless  and  incomplete ;  and  the  government,  with 
its  one  hundred  and  nineteen  thousand  soldiers,  utterly 
unable  to  grapple  with  the  Carlist  rebellion.  Wherever 
the  eye  glanced  —  dissolution  of  the  force.*?  of  govern- 
ment, moral  and   financial   bankruptcy,   incapacity  or 


668 


Chrntina. 


in^possibility  of  advancing  a  step;-fanaUasm  b.gowy 
egoism  rampant ;  eternal  opposition  by  grandees  and 
deputies  to  wliatever  saving  measures  might  be  pro- 
posed ;  and  a  whirl  of  giddy  ministries,  one  succeeding 
and  blinding  the  other  with  more  and  more  desperate 
exhibitions  of  witlessness  and  weakness. 

The  moral  and  tactical  superiority  of  Zumalacarregut 
over  Rodil,  Mina,  and  the  other  Spanish  generals  was 
strikingly  shown  in  the  rapid  successes  of  the  Carl.sts. 
A  handful   of  soldiers  breaking  out  '^-^^ -^''""f''^ 
the   heart   of    the   capital    of    Spa.n   and   the    Indies 
plunged  the  peninsula  into  a  state  bordenng  on  chaos 
The  complete  demoralization   of   the  royal    army    the 
constant  defeats  of   the  Cnristinos    and   the    constant 
victories  of  Zumalacarregui,  caused  the  government  to 
call  in  the  intervention  of  the  allies ;  but  ^o.MV9^ 
declined  to  interfere.    A  momentary  pause  m  the  pan  c, 
caused  by  Zumalacarregui's  intended  --ch  °n  Madr  d 
was  produced  by  the  wounding  and  death  of  the  great 

'' Angular  personality;  a  stature  of  middle  size;  a 
head  of  the  finest  symmetry,  surmounting  a  neck  wor- 
thy of  a  Roman  gladiator ;  a  profile  that  seemed  snatched 
1  some  antfque  bas-relief,   whose   Gre^c  harmony 
was,  however,  ruffled  by  something   peculiarly  aggres 
live  in  the  chin  and  nose;  a  gray  eye,  working  with 
ncredible  intensity  under  thick,  overhanging  brows  ;  a 
cllr,  passionate,  and  powerful  energy  imprisoned  within 
an  a'uLre,  monosyllabic,  --j>-s  nature  ;  inflexibly 
iust   unselfish,   inhuman ;   his  dazzling  valor  and   the 
Ldnating  might  of  his  personality  wove  a  spell  over 


i 


668 


ChriMina. 


impossibility  of  advancing  a  step;-fa..atic.sm  b.go  y 
egoism  rampant ;  eternal  opposition  by  sranclees  and 
deputies  to  whatever  saving  measures  might  be  pro- 
posed ;  and  a  whirl  of  giddy  ministries,  one  succeedn,g 
Zd  blinding  the  other  with  more  and  more  desperate 
exhibitions  of  witlessness  and  weakness. 

The  moral  and  tactical  superiority  of  Zumalacarregut 
over  Rodil,  Mina,  and  the  other  Sp-ish  generals  was 
strikhiglv  shown  in  the  rapid  successes  of  theCarlists. 
A  handful  of  soldiers  breaking  out  into  an  . W.  -n 
the   heart   of    the   capital    of    Spam   and   the    Inches 
plunged  the  peninsula  into  a  state  bordering  on  chaos 
The  complete  demoralization   of   the  royal    army    the 
constant  defeats  of    the  CMs^^nos    and   the   consta  U 
victories  of  Zumalacarregui,  caused  the  government  to 
call  in  the  intervention  of  the  allies ;  but  L--  P'^^'Pf; 
declined  to  interfere.    A  momentary  pause  m  the  pan  c, 
caused  by  Zumalacarregui's  intended  '--'^  ""^  fj^^;^; 
was  produced  by  the  wounding  and  death  of  the  great 

''a  Igular  personality ;  a  stature  of  middle  size ;  a 
head  of  the  finest  symmetrj-,  surmountn.g  a  neck  wo- 
tirof  a  Roman  gladiator ;  a  profile  that  seemed  snatched 
from  some  antfque  bas-relief,  whose  Greek  harmony 
as  however,  raffled  by  something  pecuharly  aggr  s- 
2-  in  the  chin  and  nose;  a  gray  eye,  -rkmg  juh 
incredible  intensity  under  thick,  o-rhangmg  bn>  ,  a 
dear,  passionate,  and  powerful  energy  mipnsoned  with  n 

an  a'uLre,  monosyllabic,  "--"--"'"IVfnr'S 
iust   unselfish,    inhuman ;   his  dazzling  valor  and   the 
Enating  might  of  his  personality  wove  a  spell  over 


Down  with  the  Monks  ! 


671 


all  who  approached  him ;  and  from  his  death  dates  the 
slow  but  sure  decomposition  of  the  Carlist  party. 

General  Maroto,  a  dark  intriguer,  whom  Don  Carlos 
called  in  to  supply  his  place,  proved  the  ruin  of  that 
party. 

"  Down  with  the  monks ! "  became  the  almost  uni- 
versal cry  in  1835,  ^^^  led  to  sanguinary  excesses  in 
Catalonia  and  Navarre,  —  a  flame  ignited  by  incendiary 
pamphlets  and  consuming  the  land  with  anarchy.     An- 
dalusia rose  and  demanded  the  constitution  of  1812  ; 
Juntas  established  themselves  everywhere,  since  the  gov- 
ernment was  powerless  to  govern ;  again  France,  called 
in,  declined  to  intervene  in  the  affairs  of  the  unhappy 
peninsula;  and  England,  as  a  last  resource  from  abso- 
lute ruin,  at  length  proposed  the  formation  of  a  minis- 
try under  the  great  banker,  Don  Juan  Alvarez  y  Men- 
dizabal.  v 

Beginning  with  a  captivating  programme  for  the  finan- 
cial regeneration  of  the  nation,  Mendizabal's  impracti- 
cable dreams  could  not  be  realized ;   his  enigmatical 
financial  projects  for  a  moment  fired  the   nation  with 
enthusiastic   faith   in   his  wonder-working   power,    but 
soon  brought  him  into  discredit ;  and  the  conflicts  aris- 
ing between  the  central  government  and  the  numerous 
self-constituted  juntas  of  the  provinces   increased  the 
despair  springing  from  a  lost  faith  in   the  all-powerful 
minister.     A  new  levy  of  one  hundred   thousand  men, 
without  a  real  to  pay  them,  was  made  to  check  the  dan- 
gerous monotony  of  Carlist  successes  in  Aragon,  Cata- 
lonia, and  Vizcaya,  as  the   new  Carlist  chiefs,  Cabrera 
and   Eguia,  bade   fair  to   make   telling  substitutes   for 
Zumalacarregui  against  Espartero  and  General  Cordoba. 


6T2 


Christinti. 


.,  r,.h=,rs  decree,  confiscating,  with  few  exceptions, 
f  1nt£  nLs  o7  cclesiastical  property,  opened  or 
the  entire  ™^^^  °  ^^.^  „f  boundless  resources  for 

;  :  Te'r  s  of' trbanUrupt  state.     But  a  nation  so 

^e^ttd  by  insecurity  of  ^-^^Z':^ZoZ 

rf  fce'l  l\TroX::Crop:n  robber,  in- 

LSon^^is^-t.  found  -  ^se  ^e^^^^ 

.ble    church   coffers    >nffi^^^^  ^^^^^^  ,„  ,,, 

Paris,  Madrid  and  Cadu.  ^^i^i^.^on  by  the 

The  general  ^'^^'y '^~'     .  ,312  in  Andalusia 

^-/rr  tte*s:ier rri.^  ^-  -^ ^ 

:neS;""e:;y  everywhere,  a^^^^ 

San  lldefonso,  the  ----.-^'t^f^t!    palace,  terri- 
angry  mob,  breaking  at  -^-gh'    ^  °  the  P  ^^.^        ^^^ 

,ed   Christina  into  2"  J  j-fthe  na'tion  should 
constitution  of  18.2  tint  ^  ^^g^. 

be  clearly  known  in  cones^ThJl^  ^,  Naples, 

^'^r^""'  rfleet    he     ountry  and  saving  herself 

bi,  .ith  ^tx::^^^^  -'''''"'  '^'" 

utter  stupidity,  fanaticism,  ^^.^^^ 

incapable  of  utilizing  the  s— •     A^         ^^^^ 
negotiations  were  going  °-J^^ ^^o^ ^.rlos,  so  hope- 
?:rd:d^:S;re"arMXd  seem.     Carlist  bands 


A  New  Constitution. 


673 


traversed  Spain  in  all  directions,  and  appeared  before 
the  gates  of  Madrid ;  and  if  they  had  had  any  supreme 
commanding  spirit,  instead  of  numberless  guerrilla 
leaders  acting  independently,  at  discord  and  dagger's 
point  with  each  other,  with  the  Virgin  Mary  as  general- 
issima  (!)  and  the  pumpkin-headed  "  Charles  V."  telling 
his  eternal  beads,  it  is  beyond  a  doubt  that  they  would 
have  succeeded. 

In  1837,  ^  "revised"  —  though  in  reality  perfectly 
new — form  of  the  constitution  of  1812  was  accepted 
and  sworn  to  by  the  cortes.  This  revision  accepted 
the  double  chamber  ("  senate  "  and  "  chamber  of  dep- 
uties ") ;  most  of  the  attributions  of  the  king ;  the 
Catholic  apostolic  faith,  —  the  abolition  of  whose  exclu- 
sive claims  was  the  first  and  last  need  of  a  liberal 
Spain ;  election  of  one  deputy,  twenty-five  years  old,  for 
each  group  of  fifty  thousand  souls ;  renewal  of  one- 
third  of  the  senate  whenever  a  new  election  took  place  ; 
and  summoning,  proroguing,  and  dissolution  of  cortes 
by  the  king. 

This  was  the  third  constitution  introduced  within 
twenty-five  years,  and  after  nine  years  of  representa- 
tive government. 

Despite  the  brilliant  achievements  of  Cabrera,  —  the 
barbarous  murder  of  whose  mother  by  the  government, 
in  retaliation  for  the  son's  cruelties,  had  raised  a  cry 
of  indignation  through  Europe,  —  Espartero,  since  his 
appointment  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  Spanish 
forces,  inactive,  negligent,  and  commonplace  as  he  was, 
had  gradually  inflicted  serious  losses  on  the  Carlists. 

Don  Carlos  himself,  however,  grovelling  in  the  gross- 
est superstition,  short-sighted,  narrow-minded,  and  sur- 


674 


Christina, 


rounded  by  a  host  of  darklings  and  speculators  was 
his  own  greatest  enemy;  and  the  appointment  of  Gen- 
eral Maroto  to  the  chief  command,  to  relieve  the  feeble 
Guergue,   sealed  his  doom.     Bitter  antagonisms  soon 
showed  themselves  between  Maroto  and  the  "Apostol- 
ical "  reactionaries  that  swarmed  about  Carlos      Carlos 
himself  took  sides  against  his  commander-in-chief ;  but 
the  rebellion  of  the  latter,  menacing  ruin  to  the  cause, 
compelled  the  king  to  submit  to  his  dictation.     Maroto, 
overcome  with  disgust  at  the  Carlist  tactics,  and  prob- 
ably influenced  by  Kspartero's  increasing  success,  en- 
tered  into   negotiations,   and  concluded  wUh  Inm  the 
well-known  Treaty  of  Vergara,  in  1839,  vvhich  virtually 
ended  the  seven  years'  war.     Don  Carlos  passed  oyer 
to  France  with  eight  thousand  of  his  followers ;  many  o 
his  troops  took  service  for  Isabella  II.;  and  the  flight 
of  Cabrera  over  the  border,   in  July,   1840,  with  five 
thousand  troops,  before  the  victorious  legions  of  Es- 
partero,  ended  the  first  episode  of  this  fifty  years  war. 

The  Carlist  defeat  was  followed  by  the  exhaustion,  it 
not  annihilation,  of  the  powers  which  had  been  con- 
tending so  desperately  against  the  new  order  of  things; 
a  victory  due  not  so  much  to  the  vigor  of  the  liberal 
party,  which  had  been  continually  ravaged  by  seW- 
conflict,  as  to  the  dissensions  and  lawlessness  of  the 

*^  Two'of  the  liberal  ^-:^x\:^^s,-Exaltados  ^.nAModerados, 
-not  content  with  fighting  to  the  death  the  "legitimist 
absolutism"  of  Carlos,  had,  after  crushing  the  third 
faction,  called  Progressists,  themselves  split  into  various 
factions  ;  and  first  one  party  and  then  the  other,  of  the 
great  liberal  wing,  governed  the  country  by  means  of 


The  Changes  Profitless, 


675 


ministries  without  fixed  principles  and  absolutely  "  stand- 
ing in  the  air." 

A  period  of  repose,  after  the  happily  ended  civil  war, 
was  indispensable,  if  any  vital  assimilation  of  the  polit- 
ical forms  recently  given  to  the  country  was  to  take 
place.     And  yet  both  constitution  and  liberal  institu- 


ISABELLA    II. 

tions  had  remained  stmnge  to  the  masses,  for  nearly  all 
the  political  changes  which  the  land  had  undergone 
since  1834  had  been  forced  on  it  by  revolutionary  vio- 
lence, court  intrigue,  or  the  arbitrary  will  of  powerful 
generals;  and  all  these  changes  had  been  sterile  for 
the  real  weal  of  the  land.    The  great  question  agitating 


676 


Chrutina. 


the  country  was,  not  this  or  that  constitution,  but  "who 
has  control  of   the  offices  and  revenues  of  the  state, 
and  how  can  /and  my  relations  find  access  to  them? 
Whether  Moderados  or  Progressists   ruled,  therefore, 
was  a  matter  of  indifference. 

After  the  treaty  of  Vergara,  Espartero  was  the  most 
popular  and  powerful  man  in  Spain.     He  allied  himself 
with  the  Progressist  group  against  the  queen-regent  and 
her  ministry,  and  soon  had  the  authority  of  the  state 
entirely  at  his  beck.    A  crisis  having  arisen  between 
Espartero  and  the  regent  soon  after  the   opening  of 
cortes  in  1840,  in  consequence  of  the  alleged  refusal  of 
the  regent  to  sanction  the  law  relating  to  the  comum- 
dades,  Christina,  who  was   then  in  Barcelona  with  her 
daughters,   laid  down  the  regency,  went  into  banish- 
ment, and  left  her  children   in  Spain.     Espartero,  a 
man  of  moderate  intelligence  and   no  specially  clear 
insight,  now  (1841)  stood  at  the  head  of  the  govern- 
ment as  regent.     Dissensions  burst  forth  m  1842;   a 
rumor  of  a  treaty  with  England  disadvantageous  to  the 
commerce  of   Catalonia  -  the  great  commercial   and 
manufacturing  centre  of  Spain -roused  both  power- 
less republicans  and  Catholic  absolutists  against  him 
The  order  to  bombard  Barcelona  and  reduce  the  rebel- 
lious city  to  order,  and  the  prorogation  of  parliament 
by  him  before  supplies  were  voted,  consummated  the 
ruin  of  his  popularity;  and  in  July  he  took  refuge  on 
an  English  ship,  rather  than  face  the  storm  of  an  angry 
cortes       After    Espartero's    fall,   Lopez,  the   eloquent 
president  of  the  congress,  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a 
provisional  government,  though  a  few  months   incum- 


Christina. 


679 


bency  of  office  reduced  him  to  hopelessness  of  ever 
doing  anything  for  the  country  in  what  he  called  "  that 
mephitic  atmosphere  in  which  thought  and  soul  every 
moment  sank  in  the  wretchedness  of  personal  interests, 
pretensions,  and  intrigues." 


Reform  made  Practicable, 


tT81 


tive  policy,  soon  shattered  against  the  clamors  of  the 
conservatives,  not  only  for  the  limitation,  but  for  the 
extinction  of  freedom,  and  the  restoration  of  clerical 
power  and  possessions,  —  hierarchical  pretensions  which 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 
ISABELLA   IL 

ONLY  twice  since  the  death  of  Charles  III.  has 
Spain  enjoyed  a  rule  which,  in  permanency  and 
relative  comprehension  of    the  needs   of   the  country, 
really  promoted  its  welfare.     The  first,  under  General 
Narvaez,   the   military  head  of  the   Moderados,   main- 
tained itself,  with   various  interruptions  and  changes, 
from  1844  to  1851;  the  second,  under  General  O'Don- 
nell,  persisted  —  something  unknown  in  constitutional 
Spain  — from  1858  to  1863.     Though  both  bore  a  reac- 
tionary character,   were   conducted  and   supported  by 
successful  soldiers,  and  rested  on  a  violent  suppression 
of  revolutionary  tendencies,  yet  both  held  in  check  the 
excessive  absolutist   hankerings  of    court  and  clergy, 
checked  by  the  revolution  of  1854.     But  both  eventu- 
ally succumbed  to  the  hostility  of  these  double  influ- 
ences.    As  Don  Carlos  was  no  longer  in  the  way,  the 
exiled  Christina  and  her  emigrant  party  began  to  occupy 
more  and  more  the  position  abandoned  by  him  j  a  posi- 
tion defended,  not  with  the  coarse  fanaticism,  the  stupid 
thoughtlessness,  of  18 14  and  1823,  but  with  elaborate 
argumentation,  through  the   agency  of    skilful  writers 
like  Cortes  and  Valmes.     Narvaez's  brilliant  beginning, 
ready  as  he  was  to  give  strong  guarantees  of  a  conserva- 

680 


Narvaez. 


found  the  most  zealous  support  in  Christina.  Under 
Narvaez,  however,  for  the  first  time,  some  of  the  reforms 
instituted  by  the  enlightened  Burgos  were  made  prac- 
ticable :    a  tolerably  regular  vote  of  supplies  was  ob- 


682 


Narvaez, 


n 


tained ;  the  means  for  carrying  on  the  government  flowed 
in  through  the  reformed  system  of  taxation ;  the  sim- 
plest elements  of  human  and  political  order  appeared 
above  the  horizon  ;  an  intelligent  scheme  of  instruction 
was  organized;  the   state  began  to   pay  soldiers   and 
officials  punctually;   security  of   life,  means  of    inter- 
course and  culture  were  afforded  ;  the  people  began  to 
work,  learn,  and  obey  the  laws  ;  and  though  temporarily 
a-itated,  in  .846,  by  the  marriage  of  Don  Francisco  de 
Bourbon  with  Isabella  II.  (prematurely  pronounced  of 
acre  in   1843),   and  by  the  new  scandals  attaching  to 
the  queen  and  the  queen-mother,  the  country,  thanks  to 
his  vigorous   and   conciliatory  policy,    passed   happily 
through  the  crisis  of  1848.     The  reconciliation  of  par- 
ties was  joyfully  concluded  by  the  general  amnesty  of 
1849,  and  the  reform  of  the  tariff  completed  the  eco- 
nomic legislation  of  1845.      Passion   exhausted   itself 
little   by   little.      Railroads,    highways,   manufactories 
began  to   spring  up  on  all  sides;  the  loss  of  the  col- 
onies began  to  be  abundantly  compensated  by  encour- 
agement of  home  industries.    Unfortunately,  the  vicious 
court  opened  the  palace  doors  wide  to  ecclesiastical 
influences.     Narvaez,  in  1851,  succumbed  to  the  machi- 
nations of  the  growing  Catholic  absolutist  party.     1  hree 
years'  experimenting  with  dreams  of  a  restoration,  of 
^  the  genuine   Habsburg-Bourbon  type,  interrupting  the 
quiet  and  thrivir,g  work  of  the  Moderado  party,  and 
again  rousing  the  ancient  strife,  resulted  in  the  revolu- 
tion of  1854.     For  the  first  time  both  the  monarchy 
and   Catholicism  were   openly  and  directly   attacked. 
The  scandalous  acts  of  the  court  had  brought  into  the 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  ESCURIAL. 


I 


682 


Narvaez. 


tained ;  the  means  tor  caro-i"g  on  the  government  flowed 
in   through  the  reformed  system  of  taxation  ;  the  snii- 
plest  elements  of  human  and  political  order  appeared 
above  the  horizon ;  an  intelligent  scheme  of  instruction 
was  organized;  the   state   began   to   pay  soldiers_  and 
otBcials  punctually;    security  of   life,   means  of    inter- 
course and  culture  were  afforded  ;  the  people  began   o 
work,  learn,  and  obey  the  laws ;  and  though  temporan  y 
a.^itated,  in  .S46,  by  the  marriage  of  Don  Francisco  de 
irourbonwith  Isabella  II.  (prematurely  pronounced  of 
a-e  in    1843'),   and  by  the  new  scandals  attaching  to 
the  queen  and  the  queen-mother,  the  country,  thanks  to 
his  vio-orous   and   conciliatory  policy,    passed   happily 
through  the  crisis  of  1848.     The  reconciliation  of  par- 
ties was  ioxfuUy  concluded  hs  the  general  amnesty  of 
,849,  and  ihe  reform  of  the  tariff  completed  the  eco- 
noinic  legislation  of  1845.      l'-'>^sion   exhausted   itself 
little   bv  kittle.      Railroads,    highways,   manufactories 
beoan  \o  spring  up  on  all  sides ;  the  loss  of  the  col- 
onies began  to  be  abundantly  compensated  by  encour- 
a-^ement  of  home  industries.    Unfortunately,  the  uc.ous 
court  opened  the  palace  doors  wide  to  ecclesiastical 
influences.     Narvaez,  in  1851,  succumbed  to  the  inachi- 
nations  of  the  growing  Catholic  absolutist  party.    Three 
years'  experimenting  with  dreams  of  a  restoration,  of 
the  genuine    Habsburg-nourbon  type,  interrupting  the 
nuiet  and  thrivir,g  work  of  the  Moderado  party,  and 
a^ain  rousing  the  ancient  strife,  resulted  in  the  revo lu- 
titn  of   1854.     For  the  first  time  both  the  monarchy 
and   Catholicism  were    openly  and   directly   attacked. 
The  scandalous  acts  of  the  court  had  brought  into  the 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  ESCURIAL. 


O'Donnell. 


685 


Bpen  light  a  consistent,  radical,  republican,  materialistic 
party,  hitherto  sneaking  in  corners. 

Espartero  and  O'Donnell  humbled  the  throne  in  this 
revolution,  and  the  former,  as  president  of  the  ministry, 
showed  his  political  incapacity,  in  the  cortes  of  1854-56, 
as  conspicuously  as  before.     The  Progressists,  now  in 
power,  showed  the  same  impractical  declamation,  pas- 
sionateness,  and  bad  temper  as  in  1840-43.     Yet  these 
years  of  commotion  show  an  encouraging  progress  over 
those  of  earlier  decades :  the  deportment  of  the  people 
was  more  orderly,  civilized,  and  human.     The  wild  bar- 
barism of  the  civil  war  was  almost  unheard  of,  and  the 
masses,  once  so  susceptible  to  deeds  of  horror  when 
urged  by  demagogues  or  monks,   had  grown   quieter 
and  more  law-abiding.      Twenty  years'  freedom  from 
monasticism,    and    contact,   however    superficial,   with 
modern  culture,  showed  themselves  plainly  enough  in 
these  two  years;  and  the  revolution  of  1856,  collapsing 
as  it  did  through  its  own  impotence  and  the  impotence 
of  its  leaders,  held  down  by  O'Donnell,  who  had  kept 
Espartero  in  check  as  war  minister,  did  not  give  rise  to 
the  hitherto  usual  acts  of  fanatical  violence. 

But  for  the  clerical  tendencies  of  the  priest-ridden 
court,  O'Donnell  might  have  maintained  his  intelligent, 
conciliatory  policy  directly  after  the  putting  down  of 
the  revolution.  Narvaez's  government,  in  1856,  shat- 
tered against  the  general  opposition  flashing  forth  at 
the  efforts  of  the  Romish  hierarchy.  In  1858  the 
queen  again  took  refuge  in  O'Donnell,  the  "rebel 
chief,"  who,  in  the  revolution  of  1854,  had  occupied  a 
middle  position  between  the  old  parties  of  the  Mode- 
rados  and   Progressists,   and    had   formed  out  of   the 


686 


Isabella  IL 


adherents  of  both  the  well-known  Liberal  Union.     Th«* 
object  of  the  Union  was  to  exclude  party  doctrines  and 
party  passions,  combine  the  vigorous  liberal  powers  of 
-very  shade,   and  place  them   at  the  disposal  of  real 
progress,  order,  and  law.     By  means  of  this  organiza- 
tion O'Donnell   commanded  the  situation    nearly  five 
years,  an  important  factor  in  which  was  his  conduct  of 
the   brief    but   glorious    Morocco  war  of  1859,  called 
forth  by  Mahometan  fanaticism  and  by  unauthorized 
attacks   on  the   Spanish-African   stronghold  of  Ceuta. 
The  happy  effects  of   this  outpouring  of  fervor  on  a 
foreign  enemy  were  seen  at  once  in  the  silencing  of  the 
eternal  partisan   squabbles,  and  the  inauguration  of  a 
period  of  prosperity  unknown  hitherto  to  the  exhausted 
peninsula.     For  several  years  it  seemed  as  if  at  length 
the    conclusion  of    the    perpetual    confusion    in  which 
Spanish  life  and  progress  had  been  involved  had  been 
reached,  — as  if  law  and  culture  had  become  indispens- 
able  as' if  progress  in  peaceful  development  and  serene 
intelligence  at  length  had  become  a  fundamental  part 
of  peninsular  experience.      Foreign  capital  began   to 
flow  in  railways  and  manifold  industrial  enterprises  to 
flourish.     Exhaustive  statistics  began  to  show  the  world 
a   really  delightful    advance   in   trade    and  commerce, 
population,  national  possessions,  agriculture,  and  edu- 
cational facilities,  the  growth  of  the  fleet  and  modes  of 
communication,  and  the  gradual  passing   away  of  the 
stifling  superstition,  laziness,  and  despotism  of  the  past. 
The  beginning  of  the  year  i860,  as  compared  with 
the  end  of  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  VII.  in  1833,  showed 
immense  advances  in  public  and  private  life.     In  1833, 
the   boundless  tyranny  of   an  evil-minded    prince  ;    m 


THE  NAVAJA. 


Beneficent  Changes, 


689 


i860  the  evil  passions  of  a  frivolous  princess  curbed 
and   chastised.     Then   the  enormous   influence   of    an 
infinitely  wealthy,  uncivilized  clergy ;  now  this  influence, 
emasculated  by  the  sale  of  the  church  property,  the 
abolition  of  nearly  all  the  monasteries,  the  emancipa- 
tion of  the  state  and  of  intellectual  life  from  the  church. 
Then   the   beneficent    activity   of    the   state,    crippled 
despite  the  best  will  of  the  ruling  circles  by  a  pitiable 
organization  of  the  executive  and  judiciary ;  now  courts 
and  administration  so  constituted  as  to  satisfy  the  needs 
of  the  moment  wherever  a  tolerable  desire  to  do  justice 
was  present.     Then  anarchy  organized  in  the  bands  of 
so-called  "royal  volunteers,"  assisted  by  a  feeble  army 
and  a  powerless  police ;  now  public  authority  and  order, 
protected  by  a  good  army  and   an   excellent   police. 
Then  agriculture,  the  professions,  trade,  perfectly  pros- 
trate and  destitute  of  the  most  necessary  foundations ; 
now  agriculture   revived  by  private   ownership  of  the 
huge  property  of  the  church,  trade,  and  industry,  by  the 
building  of  railways,  roads,  bridges,  and  the  existence 
of  public  security.     Then  all  participation  of  the  nation 
in  affairs  excluded  —  no  representation,  no   accounta- 
bility ;  now  the  people  able  to  make  their  will  felt  in 
Cortes,  in  provincial  and  communal  representation,  and 
in  an  educated  press.     Then  Spain  almost  absolutely 
shut  out  from  the  civilized  world  ;  now  Spain  touched 
at  a  thousand  points  —  by  means  of  travel,  electricity, 
and   steam  —  by  the  thronging  impressions  of    trans- 
Pyreneean  activity.     Then  all  channels   of    education 
stopped  up  ;  no  public  schools ;  caricatures  of  middle- 
class  schools  and  universities;  no  literature;  no  energy 
X  displayed  by  literary  corporations  :  now  all  these  chan- 


690 


Isabella  IL 


The  True  ^Spaniard, 


691 


nels  overflowingly  opened,  the  former  hindrances  to  art 
set  aside,  the  country  covered  with  universities,  lyceums, 
elementary  schools,  academies,  libraries,  museums. 

How  then  did  it  happen  that  in  spite    of  all  these 
beneficent  changes,  the  nation  still  found  no  satisfac- 
tion—that O'Donnell  could  not  maintain  his  policy, 
adapted  on  the  whole  to  the  circumstances ;  that  after 
his  retirement  in    1863  the  ancient  chaos  of   cabinet 
changes  and   dissolutions  of  Cortes,  of  arbitrary  and 
violent  repression  and  of  proniinciamientos  burst  forth 
more  malignly  than  ever,  and  in  five  years  precipitated 
the  land  into  overthrowing  the  Bourbon  dynasty  in  a  day, 
and  into  a  destruction  of  all  the  arrangements  hitherto 
so  painfully  arrived  at,  leaving  behind  six  years  of  the 
most  ghastly  anarchy  ? 

The  old  Catholic  Spain  was  extinct;  all  external  ob- 
stacles  which  might  have  counteracted  a  hopeful  devel- 
opment removed ;  constitutionalism  in  form  at  least  ex- 
isted ;  no  ministry  was  able  to  resist  a  hostile  majority 
in  the  cortes  ;  the  press  exercised   a  great   influence. 
And  yet  the  whole  constitutional  apparatus  was  hollow 
and  empty.     Constitutional  monarchy  is  the  most  per- 
fect, but  the  most  difficult  of  all  forms  of  government. 
It   pre-supposes  with   princes   and   citizens,  not   only 
judgment,  but  especially  virtue ;  is  adapted  only  to  a 
grave  carefully  educated,  morally  convinced,  healthful 
and  energetic  state,  and  a  kingly  house  schooled  in 
governing  conscientiously.     Where  either  is  wanting  — 
people  or  prince  — great  good  fortune  alone  can  render 
a  tolerable  issue  practicable.     Spain  lacked  both.     An 
industrious,   virtuously-trained,   serious-minded   people 
did  not  exist ;  and  at  the  palace,  a  princess  whose  scan- 


dalous improprieties  rivalled  those  of  Maria  Louisa, 
governed.  In  such  circumstances,  constitutional  gov- 
ernment is  perhaps  the  worst  of  governments.  A  people 
like  the  Spanish,  accustomed  for  centuries  alternately 
to  riot  and  then  to  starve  off  the  unproductiveness  of 
a  gigantic  colonial  system,  overshadowed  by  a  heathen- 
ized and  fantastic  church  devoid  of  all  sense  of  duty, 
were  gravely  endangered  at  the  opening  of  a  parlia- 
mentary era.  All  the  conspicuous  intelligences  of  the 
kingdom  rushed  eloquently  and  impetuously  to  the  field 
of  battle,  not  only  to  obtain  influence  and  control,  but 
the  means  of  a  luxurious  existence.  The  true  Spaniard 
knows  little  of  the  sober,  modest  average  of  a  well-reg- 
ulated civil  life  ;  he  must  live  and  labor  as  a  great  lord. 
Hence  his  effort  to  find,  in  the  state,  a  substitute  for 
the  vanished  colonies.  Governing  was  to  him  synony- 
mous with  plundering.  The  treasury  became  not  only 
the  salary-payer  but  the  never-to-be-exhausted  mine  of 
thousands.  Hence  the  pressure  of  all  talent  into  the 
career  of  politics.  Whatever  in  other  lands  thronged 
the  counters  and  banking-houses,  the  fields,  workshops, 
and  lecture-rooms,  the  domains  of  art  and  science, 
rushed  wildly  here  into  the  narrow  vortex  of  politics, 
creating  a  crushing  competition,  a  desperate  struggle 
for  existence,  a  superabundance  of  blood  in  the  brain, 
with  famished  extremities.  No  politics  and  no  party 
can  satisfy  claims  so  insatiable.  Even  though  one 
party  should  possess  itself  exclusively  of  all  the  offices 
and  remunerative  positions,  a  great  number  of  its  own 
party  and  party  leaders  remains  empty  handed.  These 
unfortunates  then  turn  their  backs  on  their  ungrateful 
friends,  and  go  into  opposition  or  wherever  else  the 


692 


Isabella  II. 


best  prospects  are  to  be  found.  A  Spanish  politician 
of  1865  said,  that  politics  in  Spain  was  a  speculation, 
and  the  number  of  speculators  was  daily  increasing. 

Such  a  condition  of  things  as  this  described,  spring- 
ing from  social  and  economic  considerations,  was  ren- 
dered  worse    by   the    national    temperament.      "The 
Spaniards  act  in  violent  paroxysms,  one  moment  capa- 
ble of  the  noblest  sacrifices,  the  most  heroic  exertions; 
then  lapsing  into  inconstancy  and  helplessness ;  a  peo- 
ple of  soldiers  ;  a  race  of  heroes,  but  not  a  nation  of 
citizens."     Of    course    such   a   temperament   puts    the 
most  serious  obstacles  in  the  way  of  self-government. 
Such  a  people  needs  politically  the  check  of  a  strong, 
conscientious,   respected  monarchy;   morally  it  needs 
the  guiding  principle  of  a  clearly  developed  sense  of 
duty.     Spain,  unhappily,  has  had  to  bear  through  all  the 
storms  of  this  century,  the  load  of  a  dynasty  whose 
immorality  and   entire  unconsciousness  of  duty  would 
have  brought  the  healthiest  nation  into  agony.    Imagme 
a  century  of  George  the  Fourths  !  —Spain  is  more  des- 
titute of  the  moral  foundation  than  perhaps  any  other 
European  nation.      The  real   question  of    her  future, 
therefore,  is  intimately  allied  with  that  of  a  restora- 
tion of  her  moral   and  intellectual  groundwork.     The 
whole  soul  of  the  people  rested  on  Catholicism  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  revolution;  its   sinister  arch  spanned 
the  whole  moral  horizon  and  intelligence  of  the  people. 
At  the  head   of  the  movement  of  i8o3,   Catholicism 
soon  fell  into  passionate  conflict  with  that  movement ; 
and  that  the  latter  was  so  savage  in  its  character,  so 
deeply  undermining  in  its  effects  upon  the  people,  was 
essentially   its   fault.     The   restorations    of    18 14    and 


A  Royal  Collapse, 


693 


1823  rendered  a  reposeful  development  impossible, — 
destroyed  the  faith  and  trust  of  the  people  in  its  guides. 
The  passions  thus  developed  drove  the  constitutional 
beginnings,  after  the  death  of  Ferdinand,  astray.  The 
burning  of  monasteries  and  murder  of  monks,  illumin- 
ated, by  a  flash  from  hell,  its  process  of  education  for 
the  people.  Its  guidance  of  Carlist  politics  showed  a 
mastery  in  the  art  of  ruining  those  entrusted  to  its  care. 
Catholicism,  having  brought  Don  Carlos  to  taste  the 
bitter  cup  of  exile,  passed  ov^r  to  the  other  camp. 
Essentially  due  to  it  were  the  hindrances  which  Nar- 
vaez's  intelligent  conservative  policy,  experienced  in  the 
"forties  ;"  the  revolution  of  1854,  again,  was  due  to  its 
blind  pressure  after  a  thorough-going  Catholic  restora- 
tion. Queen  Isabella  followed  its  whisperings  when  she 
constantly  meddled  with  O'Donnell's  policy,  and  its 
advice,  when  in  the  last  years  of  her  government  she 
put  herself  in  such  opposition  to  the  minister  that  the 
breach  ensuing  plunged  her  and  her  whole  house  into 
instant  misery  and  banishment.  Catholicism  had 
wrecked  the  House  of  Habsburg ;  it  consummated  its 
triumph  by  wrecking  the  House  of  Bourbon.  When,  in 
September,  1868,  the  land,  almost  with  unanimity,  let 
the  royal  house  collapse  under  the  measureless  mass  of 
its  own  iniquities,  its  indignation  was  less  bitter  against 
Isabella  than  against  her  spiritual  advisers.  The  world 
was  astounded  to  see  how  far  the  most  Catholic  of  na- 
tions had  loosed  itself  from  its  church.  Out  of  hatred 
to  this  church  the  populations  of  the  great  cities  actu- 
ally began  to  look  sympathetically  on  the  advent  of 
Protestantism  in  Spain.  Heart  and  understanding  had 
become  equally  estranged  from  the  previously  accepted 


694 


Isabella  11. 


dogmatic  faith.  Sixty  years  of  uninterrupted,  immoral, 
and  illiberal,  spiritual  tyranny,  poisoning  the  whole 
period,  frustrating  all  the  hopes  of  the  nation,  had  at 
last  ended  in  the  bursting  of  a  chain  which  for  nearly 
two   thousand    years   had   bound   church   and   people 

together. 

But  with  Catholicism,  the  firm  foundation  on  which 
the  Catholic  nation  rested  is  knocked  away.     No  peo- 
ple, least  of  all  the  profoundly  religious  Spanish  people, 
can  exist  without  some  strong  moral  basis.     So  much 
passion,  fancy,  extravagance,  withdraws  the  intellectual 
life  of  the   peninsula  from  the   power  of  quiet   philo- 
sophic  meditation,    its   moral   life   from    sober,   moral 
guidance.     Hence   the   chaos   of   the  next   six   years. 
Unbridled  haste,  the  traces  of  a  nervous,  paroxysmal 
constitution,  the  play  and  counterplay  of  splendid,  but 
immature  talent,  convulsive  heroism,  followed  closely 
by  wretched  depression,  brief  moments  of -great  exal- 
tation, and  long  years  of  ensuing  enervation,  endless 
propositions   resulting   in   nothing,    and   impracticable 
reveries  put  forth   by  the  scholar  and  statesman ;  all 
come  out  luminously  and  sorrowfully  enough  in  Spanish 
literature,  art,   and  life.     Such  is  the  picture  of  this 
richly-gifted  people  of  noble  tendencies,  whom  to  know 
is  to  love  and  pitv,  whose  fate  it  has  been  to  be  incon- 
ceivably misled  and  misguided  by  the  very  persons  who 
should  have  guided  and  helped  it. 

The  act  which  led  to  the  immediate  exile  of  Isabella, 

'  then  enjoying  the  sea  baths  of  San  Sebastian,  was  the 

Pronunciamiento  of  Cadiz,  of  September  19,  1868,  which 

bares  to  the  quick  the  unendurable  misery  and  dread  of 

the   country ;   fundamental  laws  trampled  under  foot ; 


A  Provhional  Grovernment. 


695 


the  right  to  vote  perverted  by  intimidation  and  bribery  ; 
personal  security,  dependent  not  on  the  laws  but  on  the 
irresponsible  will  of  haphazard  magistrates;  communal 
freedom  extinct;  the  executive  and  the  exchequer  a 
prey  to  vice  and  brokerage  ;  public  instruction  enslaved  ; 
the  press  mute  ;  patents  of  nobility  shamelessly  lavished 
on  favorites  ;  universal  corruption  throughout  the  ad- 
ministration. It  was  a  cry  which  rang  from  one  end 
of  Europe  to  the  other,  a  frightful  awakening  to  Isa- 
bella and  Father  Claret.  The  signers  of  the  Pronun- 
ciamiento were,  Duke  de  la  Torre,  Juan  Prim  (since  the 
Morocco  and  Mexican  wars  the  great  rival  of  O'Don- 
nell).  General  Dulce,  Francisco  Serrano  Bedoya,  Ra- 
mon Nouvilas,  R.  Perimo  de  Rivera,  A.  Caballero  de 
Rodas,  and  JuanTopete, —  all  men  of  unbounded  influ- 
ence. A  provisional  government  was  formed,  —  after 
some  slight  hostilities  between  the  royal  and  the  revo- 
lutionary troops  at  Alcolea, —  with  Serrano,  as  president 
of  the  ministry,  Prim,  as  war  minister,  Lorenzana,  as 
foreign  secretary,  Ortiz,  minister  of  justice,  Topete, 
minister  of  the  marine,  Figuerola,  finance  minister, 
Sagasta,  minister  of  the  interior,  Zorilla,  minister  of 
commerce,  and  Lopez  de  Ayala  for  the  colonies. 

In  1869,  the  national  cortes  was  convoked  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  a  permanent  form  of  govern- 
ment, the  opening  of  which  was  saluted  by  vociferous 
cries  of  "  Constitutional  Monarchy  ! "  "  Democratic 
Monarchy  !  "  "  The  Republic  !  "  "  The  Federal  Re- 
public !  "  The  Bourbon  coat  of  arms  was  removed  from 
the  hall  of  parliament,  and  the  crucifix  vanished  from 
the  president's  table.  Serrano  laid  down  his  deputed 
authority  in  February,  1869.     A  committee  of  fifteen, 


j»»««,«i.«,a'"»»«SS!M»l»'5'»"* 


696 


Serrano, 


Prince  Leopold  Withdrawn. 


697 


from  whom  the  republican  deputies  were  excluded,  was 
assigned  the  work  of  drawing  up  a  constitution.  The 
restoration  of  a  monarchical  form  of  government,  with 
constitutional  guarantees,  was  a  clearly  enunciated  point 
of  this  constitution.  It  established  freedom  of  con- 
science, the  principle  that  all  sovereignty  flowed  from 


MONTPENSIER,  SERRANO,    TOPETE. 

the  people,  monarchy  as  the  form  of  government  (in  op- 
position to  two  hundred  republican  journals  and  five 
hundred  republican  committees),  a  senate  and  council 
of  state,  and  many  other  special  determinations.  It 
was  signed  on  the  2d  of  June  :  magnificent  inkstands, 


prettily  ornamented  parchments,  pens  on  silver  waiters, 
and  gold  and  ivory  pen-holders  set  with  brilliants,  —  one 
of  the  deputies  had  proposed  eight  great  eagle-quills ! 
—  were  supplied  for  subscribing  to  this  mosaic  work  of 
Democrats,  Progressists,  and  Unionists.  The  public 
celebration  attending  its  solemn  promulgation  was  with- 
out enthusiasm. 

Marshal  Serrano  was  named  regent  for  the  interreg- 
num, during  which  the  candidacies  of  the  duke  of 
Montpensier,  Isabella's  brother-in-law,  and^  Don  Fer- 
nando, king  of  Portugal,  the  unwilling  representativ'e  of 
the  so-called  party  of  the  "  Iberian  Union,"  were  dis- 
cussed and  rejected,  the  first  for  dynastic  considera- 
tions, the  other  because  of  Don  Fernando's  repugnance 
to  attempting  union  between  Spain  and  Portugal. 
Prim's  candidate.  Prince  Leopold  of  Hohenzollern,  the 
proximate  occasion  of  the  Franco-German  war,  was 
bitterly  opposed  by  Napoleon  IIL,  the  empress,  and 
Rouher,  president  of  the  ministry,  from  a  dread,  it  is 
said,  of  a  re-establishment  of  the  universal  monarchy 
of  Charles  V.  There  were  rumors,  too,  that  the  em- 
press's antipathy  to  the  Hohenzollern  family,  originating 
from  their  rejecting  a  certain  marriage  alliance  proposed 
by  her,  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the  war.  It  is  im- 
possible her«  to  enter  into  Napoleon's  criminal  obsti- 
nacy in  insisting  that  the  king  of  Prussia,  as  the  eldest 
of  the  Hohenzollern  branch,  should  formally  forbid 
Prince  Leopold  to  persist  in  his  candidacy.  King 
William  declined  such  a  concession   to  French   pique. 

The  prince's  father,  however,  in  view  of  possible  com- 
plications and  the  angry  feelings  of  France,  withdrew 
his  name  in  July,  1870.     The  friends   of  Espartero  in- 


If 


•i^m>im^  j»i!ai-jM.BW 


698 


A7nadeo. 


Priin  Assassinated. 


699 


sisted  that  the  crown  should  be  offered  to  him,  the  "  old 
hermit   of    Logrofio ; "   but  he    stubbornly  and  wisely 

refused. 

The  duke  of  Aosta,  Don  Amadeo,  son  of  Victor  Eman- 
uel, then  received  (November  i6)  one  hundred  and 
ninety-one  out  of  three  hundred  and  eleven  votes  of 


Ruiz  Zorrilla,  Prim,  Sagasta.    . 

the  cortes,  Montpensier  twenty-seven,  his  duchess  one, 
Espartero  eight,  Don  Alfonso  (son  of  Isabella),  two, 
the  Federal  Republic  sixty,  the  simple  Republic  one. 
The  duke  of  Aosta  was  declared  elected  Constitutional 
King  of  Spain,  under  the  title  of  Amadeo  I. 

The  assassination  of  Marshal  Prim  (December  27-30), 
just  before  Amadeo's  arrival,  filled  the  country  and  the 


high-hearted  Savoyard  king  with  gloom.  "  I  am  dyino-, 
but  the  king  is  coming.  Long  live  the  king !  "  were  the 
soldier's  last  words. 

Serrano  surrendered  his  powers  to  the  cortes  and  the 
king  was  duly  sworn  in,  January  2,  187 1. 

On  the  nth  of  February,  1873,  Amadeo  abdicated, 
and  the  "  Republic  succeeded  the  monarchy  as  quietly 
as  one  sentinel  succeeds  another."   The  Italian  kino-  had 
found  it  impossible  to  govern  constitutionally  in  Spain ; 
his   life  had  been  attempted;  the  queen  was  continu- 
ally insulted  by  the  wives  of  the  grandees ;  one  disso- 
lution of  parliament,  and  one  change  of  cabinet  after 
another,  had  failed  to  give  him  elements  homogeneous, 
enlightened,  unselfish,  and  patriotic  enough  to  control  a 
country  in  which    republicanism    had  now  made  mon- 
strous strides.     "Spain  for  the  Spaniards!    Out  with 
the  Savoyard!"  resounded  through  stranger-abhorring 
Spain.     A   king   in   round  hat  and  white  pantaloons, 
simple  in  manners,  intolerant  of  hand-kiscing  and  ob- 
sequiousness ;    a   queen  who  dared  to  give  birth  to  a 
prince  without  having  the  palace  illuminated ;  an  im- 
passive, unemotional  royal  couple,  promenading  almost 
unattended  through  the  streets  of   Madrid;  matchless 
courage  and  simplicity ;  the  heartiest  desire  to  benefit 
the  country  by  parliamentary  and  lawful  methods,  to  heal 
its  incurable  wounds,  to  reconcile  its  irreconcilable  par- 
ties,—  all  these  things  contributed  to  the  departure  of 
the  king  and  queen  to  Portugal. 

The  Federal  Republic  was  proclaimed  by  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty-eight  votes  of  the  cortes  against  thirty- 
two.  The  "fuera  los  Borbones ! "  of  1868,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  ''  al  fin  lo  hemos  logrado  !  "  (at  last  we 


700 


The  Republic. 


Emilia  Castelar, 


701 


have  it !)  of  the  Republic  of  1873.  Two  years  of  dictator- 
ships now  ensued  ;  a  cruel  picture  over  which  it  is 
refreshing  to  draw  the  veil.  The  beginning  of  republi- 
can institutions  was,  however,  signalized  by  the  negotia- 
tion of  an  important  loan  at  twelve  per  cent.,  whereas, 
the  monarchy  had  been  forced  to  pay  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  per  cent.  The  war  in  Cuba  —  begun  in  1868  by  the 
shameful  excesses  of  the  mother  country,  the  tyranny  of 
the  irresponsible  captains-general,  the  refusal  of  the 
home  government  to  liberate  the  slaves,  and  to  grant 
Cuba,  after  repeated  promises  lasting  from  1820  to  1868, 


Pi  y  Margall. 

representation  in  the  national  cortes  —  still  raged  furi- 
ously, and  was  not  to  be  extinguished  till  1878.  A 
new  Carlist  war  also  had  broken  out  in  the  North. 

On  June  11,  1873,  Senor  Pi  y  Margall,  a  respectable 
archaeologist,  jurist,  journalist,  political  economist,  and 
follower  of  Proudhon,  was  elected  "  president  of  the 


-\ 


executive  power,"  but  resigned  in  five  weeks,  unable  to 
cope  with  the  civil  war  breaking  out  all  over  the  penin- 
sula. Nicolas  Salmeron,  an  adherent  of  the  conserva- 
tive republican  party,  called  the  "  brain  of  the  revolu- 
tion," a  popular  and  accomplished  university  professor, 
distinguished  for  his  clear  and  comprehensive  policy  as 
dictator,  held  power  for  a  few  weeks,  and  was  followed 
by  the  great  orator  and  parliamentarian,  Emilio  Castelar, 
(born  at  Cadiz  in  1831).  The  Virginius  affair,  during 
his  administration,  —  the  seizure  of  an  American  ship 
bearing  supplies  to  the  Cuban  insurgents,  and  the  shoot- 
ing of  many  of  her  crew  and  officers,  —  came  near  in- 
volving the  United  States  in  conflict  with  Spain  ;  but 
was  satisfactorily  adjusted  by  concessions  on  the  part  of 
Spain.  Castelar's  government  —  powerless  likewise 
to  grapple  with  the  increasing  anarchy,  the  deeds  of 
violence  everywhere,  the  Carlist  and  Cuban  wars,  the 
innumerable  republics  and  bits  of  republics  that  had 
proclaimed  themselves  in  the  provinces,  the  financial 
and  foreign  difficulties  —  was  ended  by  a  coup  diktat 
early  in  January,  1874,  led  by  General  Pavia  and  his 
soldiers,  to  "  prevent  the  triumph  of  anarchy."  Serrano 
was  again  entrusted  with  the  presidency  of  the  execu- 
tive power,  and,  a  reaction  from  the  chaotic  and  inco- 
herent republicanism  of  a  nation  totally  unfit  for  it  hav- 
ing taken  place,  on  December  31,  1874,  Don  Alfonso 
(born  November  28,  1857),  eldest  son  of  Isabella  II, — 
a  thoroughly  educated  young  prince,  brought  up  far 
from  his  ignoble  mother,  in  England,  France,  and  Aus- 
tria, —  was  proclaimed  king  at  Madrid.  He  landed  at 
Barcelona  and  assumed  the  government  January  9,  1875. 
He  has  been^ twice  married;  (i)  to  his  cousin,  Marie  de 


702 


Alfonso  XII. 


las  Mercedes,  youngest  daughter  of  the  duke  of  Mont- 
pensier;  (2)  to  Marie  Christina,  archduchess  of  Aus- 
tria. 

Under  him  Spain  enjoys  an  hereditary,  constitutional 

monarchy.  The  king  is  inviolable  ;  the  executive  rests 
in  him,  the  legislative  power  in  king  and  cortes.  Sen- 
ate and  congress  compose  the  cortes,  and  their  meet- 
in"-s  are  annual.  Deputies  from  Cuba  were  admitted  in 
1878.  The  king  convokes,  suspends,  or  dissolves 
cortes,  appoints  the  president  and  vice-president  of  the 
senate  from  the  senate  alone,  and  has  responsible  min- 
isters. Local  self-government  is  allowed  to  the  various 
provinces,  districts,  and  communes,  with  which  neither 
executive  nor  cortes  can  interfere  except  in  cases  of  ar- 
bitrary or  unconstitutional  assumption.  The  established 
religion  is  Catholic,  which  is  maintained  by  the  state, 
and  a  limited  freedom  of  worship  is  allowed  to  Protes- 
tants, though  it  must  be  private. 


KINGS  OF  SPAIN 


SINCE  THE  UNION  OF  CASTILE  AND  ARAGON 


HOUSE   OF   ARAGON. 

Ferdinand  V.,  The  Catholic 1512 

HOUSE   OF   HABSBURG. 

Charles  I. (accession)  1516 

Philip  H "  1556 

Philip  IH.         .        .               ....          **  1598 

Philip  IV "  1621 

Charles  H "  1665 

HOUSE   OF   BOURBON. 

Philip  V "  1700 

Ferdinand  VI. "  1746 

Charles  III "  1759 

Charles  IV .          **  17S8 

Ferdinand  VII "  1808 

HOUSE   OF   BONAPARTE. 

Joseph  Bonaparte .    1808 

HOUSE    OF    BOURBON    (^Restored). 

Ferdinand  VII 1814 

Isabella  II. (accession)  1833 

701 


702 


Kings  of  Spain. 

REPUBLIC. 


Provisional  Government 
Regency  of  Serrano 


HOUSE   OF   SAVOY. 


Amadeo  I. 


REPUBLIC. 


Dictatorship 

(i)    Pi  Y  Margall, 

(2)  Salmeron, 

(3)  Castelar, 

(4)  Serrano     . 


1868 
.    1869 


1871-73 


.    1873 


.     After  couJ>  d'etat  of  1874 
HOUSE   OF   BOURBON    {Restored). 


Alfonso  XII. 


Jan.,  1875 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Abdallih, 81 

Abdallah-ibn-Toumert,    .     .188 
Abderaman    I.,    the    Slav, 
founder  of    the    Omai- 
yade  dynasty,  .     .     .    69,  71 

execrated, 72 

Abderaman  II L,    .    .     .     .    83 

Abdication  of  Charles  V.,  .  444 

of  Charles  IV.,  ....  630 

of  Philip  v., 592 

Abencerrages,  family  of,  .  281 
"Abjuration,"  act  of,  .  .  520 
Abul  Hacen  at  Granada,  .  277 
Adrianople,  battle  of,  .  .  r8 
Agriculture  in  Aragon,  .     .  230 

in  Peru, 403 

progress  of, 130 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  treaty  of, 

560,  594 
Alaric  the  "  Balth,"    .     .   21-23 
Albert  of  Brandenburg  kin- 
dles war  in  Germany,  .  443 
A  leal  a,  burning  of  the  libra- 
ry at,  330 

Alcala,  university  of, .  .  .  349 
Alcantara,  order  of,  .  .  .  267 
Alarcos,  battle  of, .  .  .  .197 
Alexander  Farnese,  .  .  .519 
Alfonso  II.,  ....  148,  149 
Alfonso  the  Catholic,     141,  142 


PAGE 

Alfonso,   Don,    proclaimed 

king, 701 

Alfonso  the  Fighter,  .     .     .190 

Alfonso  X.  (the  Learned),     206 

Alhama,  capture  of,   .  «.     .  282 

Alicante,  bombardment  of,    564 

Almansor,  power  of,  .     .     .    90 

Almohades,  the,     ....  188 

Almoravide  conquest,  the  .  115 

dynasty,  knell  of  the, .     .  188 

Alva,  Duke  of,  character  of,  510 

sent  to  the  Netherlands, .  479 

Granvelle,    and   William 

of  Orange, 460 

rule  in  the    Netherlands 

ends, 509 

Alvaro  de  Luna  .  .  235,  253 
Amadeo,  duke  of  Aosto,  ,  698 
abdication  of,  ....  699 
Amazon,  Orellana  on  the  .  405 
America,  desires  of  Isabella 

concernmg,      ....  344 

discovered, 367 

Amiens,  peace  of,  .     .     .     .  620 
Andalusia,  loveliness  of,     .  272 

war  in, 276 

Anne  of  Austria,  queen  of 

Philip  II., ^09 

Antwerp,  the  cathedral  at- 
tacked,    476 

705 


706 


Index. 


PAGE 

Antilles,  discovery  of,  .  .  370 
Arabian  character,  ...  99 
Arabian  Nights,  the,  .  .  .  loi 
Arabic  language,  laws  against 

its  use,    ....     4SS,  493 
Arabs  and  Berbers  distin- 
guished  54 

Aragon,  development  of,     .  209 

feudalism  in, 226 

institutions  of,     244,  245,  248 
originally  small,      .     .     .164 

power  of, 24  <5 

rise  of, 165 

Architecture,  the,  of  Spain, 

120,  121,  124 
Aristocracy,  the,  of  Spain,  503 
Armada,  the  invincible,  524,  527 

Astrolabe,  the, 358 

Asturian  kings,  last  of,  .  .152 
Athanaric  fights  the  Huns,  17 
Attila,  the  Hun,  ....  27 
Augsburg  Confession,  the,  .  431 
Augsburg,  Philip  II.  at,      .  457 

Recess  of, 444 

Au'.horship  in  the  Roman 

period, xl 

Austria,  decline  of  "star" 

of, 443 

Averroes,     Avicenna,    and 

other  Aristotelians,      .  112 

Ayxa  the  Chaste,  .     .     .     .  2G1 

Aztec  community,  the,     .     .  3C1 

hieroglyphics,     .    .     .     .  3SJ 

manners, 388 


Eadajoz,  siege  of,  by  Soult,  644 
Bagdad  founded,  .  .  .  .  ii3 
Barbara,  queen,  death  of,   .  596 


PACK 

Barbary  pirates,  enterprise 

against 431 

Barcelona,  bombardment  of,  676 

fall  of, 5SS 

last  of  the  counts  of,  .    .235 

province  of, 158 

Basel,  peace  of,     .    .    .    .613 
Basques,  the,  at  war,  .     .     .163 

fhe, 655,  657 

Battles,  great, 185 

Layonne,  deputies  called  to,  636 
Behem,  Martin,  inventor  of 

the  astrolabe,  ....  358 
Berber  dominion  narrowed,  145 
Berbers,     the,    come     into 

power, 52.  54 

Bernardo  del  Carpio,      .     .146 
Berry,  Duchess  of,  becomes 
wife  of  Ferdinand  VII.,  650 


es 


217 
469 
218 

588 


ab- 


Bertrand  du  Guesclin, 

Bigotry  of  Philip  II., 

Blanche,  legend  of, 

Blenheim,  battle  of, 

Blood,   Council   of, 
lished,    .    .    . 

Bobadil  at  Granada, 
flight  of,     .    .     . 
takes  Granada,  . 

Bobadil's  mother,  . 

Bolero,  the  dance, . 

Bonaparte,  Joseph,  at  Mad- 
rid,      637,  644 

Bonaparte,    Napoleon,    re- 
turns from  Egypt,    .     .619 

Books  collected  by  Hacem 

II., 86 

Bourbon,   collapse    of    the 

house  of, 693 


480 

302 

2S7 
2S8 
2S1 

493 


Index. 


707 


PAGE 

Bourbons  and  Habsburgs, 
pedigrees  of,   ...    .  453 

Bourbons   restored  to  the 

Spanish  throne,  .     .     .645 

Buenos  Ayres,  capture   of 

by  England,     ....  623 

Bull  fi-'htinr,  bec'innin'T  of,     41 

Byzantir.c  influence  in  archi- 
tecture,   122 

Byzantines  expelled,  ...    41 

Cabot,  Sebastian,  ....  363 
Cadiz    plundered     by    the 

English, 5^"^ 

sr.c'-:cd, 5-^ 

siege  of,  raised,  ....  644 
Caesar  and  Pompey,  .     .    xxxii 
Calais  relinquished  by  Eng- 
land,   4^^ 

California,  discovery  of,      .  391 
Calligraphy  among  the  Ara- 
bians,       113 

Campomancs,  .  .  .  583,  607 
Cambray,  treaty  of,  .  .  .  430 
Cape  Finistcrre,  battle  of,  .  621 
Cape  St.  Vincent,  battle  of,  614 
Cariist  defeat,  a,    .     .     .     .  674 

intrigues 65  ^ 

successes,  ....    663,  671 

war,  the 652 

Carlos,  Don,  character  of,  .  673 
conspiracy  against, .  .  .  432 
conspiracy  by,    ....  6 j2 

death  of, 4^*3 

his  influence  among   the 

Basques, 661 

Cartier,  Jacques,  in  Buenos 

Ayres 405 


PAGE 

Castelar,  Emilio,    ....    701 

Castile,  administration  of,  .  261 
and  Aragon,  union  of,  .  537 
characteristics  of,  .  .  .  244 
feudalism  in,  .  .  .  222,  223 
originally  called  Bardulia,  167 
rises  in  greatness,  .    .    .  187 

Calatrava,  order  of,    .     .     .  267 

Catalonia  and  Valencia,  in- 
stitutions of,    ...     .  251 

climate  of, xviii 

its  union  with  Aragon,     .  245 

people  of, 157 

rebellion  in, 557 

C  ateau  -  C  ambresis,     treaty 

of, 4^.  474 

Catharine  of  Aragon,  birth 
of, 297 

Catholicism  adopted,  .  36,  yj 
attacked, 632 

Cervantes, 544 

at  the  battle  of  Lepanto,  49S 

Character  of  the  Spaniards,  240 

Charlemagne    at     Ronces- 

valles, 146 

besieges  Saragossa,     .     .     71 

Charles  II.,  of  Spain,     .     .  563 

Charles  III.,  of  Spain,  .  .  579 
reign  of, 596 

Charles  IV.,  abdication  of,  .  O30 
accession  of,       ....  604 

Charles  V.,  abdication  of,  .  444 

bafiled, 442 

birth  of, -340 

crowned    at    Aix-la-Cha- 

pelle, 415 

enters  Valladolid,   .     .     .412 
his  activity, 429 


708 


Index, 


PAGE 

Charles  V.,  death  of, .     .     .  452 

his  ambition, 538 

his  retirement,    .     .    444,  446 

his  reverses, 436 

invades  Italy,     .     .     .     -4-3 

marriage  of, 425 

popular  among  the  Neth- 

erlanders, 462 

sketch  of, 445 

lands  in  the  Asturias,      .  411 
Charters,  the,  of  Christian 

Spain,     .... 
Chili,  conquest  of. 
Chivalry,  institutions  of, 
Cholera  in  Madrid,     . 
Christianity  in  Spain, 
Christians  plundered,     .     . 

war  against, 

Church  and  state  united,  . 
Church,  prosperity  of  the, 
Cid  Campeador,  the,  174, 
Cid,  song  of  the,  .... 
Clement,  Pope,  retires  to 
Castle  St.  Angelo,  .  . 
Clergy,  unfaithfulness  of,    . 

Clovis, 29 

Coligny,  Gaspard  de,  at  St. 

Quentin, 459 

Colonial  possessions,      .     xxiii 

Columbus,  death  of,  .     .     .372 

first  voyage  of,   ...     .  356 

last  voyage  of,  and  death,  345 

life  of, 362 

treaty  with, 312 

Compass  and  the  astrolabe,  357 

"  Compromise,"  the,  .    470,  473 

Compostella,  Santiago  de, .  174 

shrine  at, 149 


.  194 

.  405 

•  133 
.  667 

XXXV 

.  91 

•  m 

•  43 

543 

178 


426 

256 


PAGE 

Complutensian       polyglot, 

the, 349 

Commerce  in  Catalonia,  .  230 
Constantine's  rule  in  Spain,  xxxv 
Constitution,  a  new  (1837),    673 

the,  of  181 2, 643 

Cordova  becomes  a  second 

Bagdad, 118 

condition  of  in  the  time 

of  Abderaman  III.,      .     85 
end  of  the  kingdom  of,   .    97 

khalifate  of, 138 

kingdom  of,    .    .    .      69,  137 
palace  of  Zahra  at,     .     .120 
pillaged  by  the  Berbers 
and  Castilians,    .    .    .  *  94 
Cortes,  Hernando,      .    .    .  376 
Cortes,  the  first  in  Castile,     243 
Crespy,  peace  of,   .    .     .    .  436 
Crusaders   capture   Jerusa- 
lem,     186 

Cuba,  war  of, 700 

Culture  of  the  Spaniards,  .  240 
the  golden  age  of,   .    .     .104 


Debt,  the  national,  .  . 
De  Soto  discovers  the  Mis 

sissippi, 

Despotism  of  Philip  II., 
Drake,  Sir  Francis,  .  . 
Dramatic  art  stimulated. 


586 

405 
502 

524 

545 


Ecclesiastical  influence,  .     .  244 
reform, .     .     .     577>  57^,  580 
Ecclesiastical  tribunals,  en- 
croachments of,        .    .  268 


Index. 


ro9 


PAGE 

Education    under    Charles 

III., 586 

Egmont  accused  by  Marga- 
ret of  Parma,.     .    .     .  469 
against  the  Inquisition, 

473»  475 
arrested, 479 

Elizabeth  of  England  makes 
a  treaty  with  the  Neth- 
erlands,   -515 

England,  wars  with,  .  ,  .  586 
Enrique  IV.,  of  Castile,  256,  257 
Epila,  battle  of,  .  .  225,  247 
Erwic  supersedes  Wamba,  48 
Escorial,  factions  in  the,  .  623 
the  palace  of  the,  .  .  .  507 
Espartcro,     .     .    .     .671,  673 

fall  of, 6-j6 

popularity  of,      .     .    676,  6S5 
Euric,    brother     of     Theo- 

deric, 28 

Eusebius    rebukes    Sisibut 
for  bull-fighting, ...     41 

Factions, 674 

Fandango,  the  dance,      .     .  493 
Ferdinand  I.,  king  of  Leon 

and  Castile,     .     .     . 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 

conspiracy  against, 

births  of, 

marriage  articles  of,    . 
Ferdinand,  character  of, 
Ferdinand  III.,      .     .     . 
Ferdinand  VI.,  accession  of, 

progress  in  the  reign  of, 
Ferdinand   VII.,    character 

of 653 


172 

239 

259 
251 

257 

355 
200 

594 
576 


PAGE 

reign  of, 630 

restored  to  the  throne,     .  645 
three  periods  in  his  reign,  646 

death  of, 653 

Feudal  system  in  Spain,      .  222 
Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold, 

t^^^' 415 

Finances,  condition  of,    .    .  635 

Financial  troubles,      .     .     ,  667 

Finisterre,  Cape,  battle  of, .  621 

Fontainebleau,  treaty  of,     .  623 

Floridablanca, 638 

at  the  head  of  affairs,      .  584 

prime  minister,  ....  6oi 
Francis  I.,  character  of,  .    .  438 

taken  prisoner  at  Pavia,  .  424 
France  vanquished,  .  .  .  460 
French  revolution,  the,  .  .  608 
Fueros  (charters),'.     .     .     .  194 

the,   ........  656 

Galicia,  shrine  at,  .  .  .  .  149 
Germany,  disquiet  in,  .  .  425 
Ghent,  insurrection  in,  .  .  435 
Gibraltar,  capture  of,  .  .  588 
Godoy,  Manuel,  favorite  of 
Maria  Louisa, 

60S-610,  614,  622,  623 
an  abject  dependent,    .     .616 
as  generalissimo,     .     .     .  620 
circumvented    by    Napo- 
leon,   631 

fall  of, 631 

flies  from  Madrid,  .     .     .  630 

hated, 624 

Golden   Fleece,  knights  of 

the, 476 

Gonsalvo  de  Cordova,  322,  333 


710 


Index. 


4OJ 


460 


PAG^ 

Gonzalez,  Count  Fernan,  .  iC3 
Gothic  kin^s,  list  of,  .  .  .  53 
Government   of   the   Oma- 

iyadcs i33»  ^34 

Granacla,  Abul  Ilacen  at,    .277 
architecture  of,  ...     •  i-4 

civil  war  in, 2. 7 

fail  of, 3-9 

kingdom  of, ---» 

Moors  removed  from,  492,  493 

sicfie  of, 3°4 

Grand    Alliance,    demands 

of,  rejected  by  Loui.^,   .  591 
Granveile   in    the    Nether- 
lands,       

William  of  Orange,  and 

Alva, 

Greece     and     Spain     com- 
pared,     xviii 

Greek  settlements  in  Spain, 

XXV  ii 

Grimaldi,  Marquis,  minister 

of  Charles  III.,  •  •  •  599 
Guadalajara,  Cortes  of,  .  .  231 
Guadalcte,  battle  of,  .  •  -139 
Guerilla  v.arfare,  .  .  •  •  ^^i 
Guesclin,  Certrand  du,  .  .217 
"Gueux,"     the,     a      party 

arnon^  the  Trotestants,  47  5 
Guilds,  system  of  abolished,  602 

Habsburr;ers,   decay   under 

the  rule  of  the,  .  54 «»  549 
IIabsburr;s  and  Bourbons, 

pedigrees  of,  ...  •  4ii3 
Hacam  II.  collects  books,  .  06 
Hacam  the  Voluptuary,  .  73 
Hamilcar  Earca  in  Spain,   xxvil 


PAGE 

Hannibal, xxviii 

Ilasdrubal, xxviii 

Henry  II.  of    France   aids 

Maurice  of  Saxony,  .  44^ 
Henry  VII.,    of    England, 

treaty  with,  .  .  •  •  3'^ 
Hermandad,  reorganization 

of, 262,  2(35 

the,  of  Castile,  ....  243 
IlermenigildandRecared,  .     33 

Hicham, ^9>  95 

Ilicro-lyphics,  the  Aztec,   .  3:6 
Holland  allied  to  England,    522 
Holland  and  Zealand  unit- 
ed  5^3 

Holy  League,  formation  of,  349 

the,  formed, 497 

Huns,  the,  in  Spain,   .    •  17.  27 


Iberian  Union,  the,  .  .  • 
Ibn-Ilazin,  the  poet,  .  .  . 
Ildefonso,  San,  outbreak  at, 

palace  of, 

treaty  of 

Incas,  conquest  of  the,  .     . 

government  of,  .     .     .    . 
Inquisition,  the,  established 
in  the  Netherlands, 

establishment  of,     .     •     . 

petition  for  its  abolition 
in  the  Netherlands, .     . 

the,  in  the  Netherlands,  . 

influence  of  the,      .     .    . 

restraining  of  the,  .     .     . 

the,  restrained,   .     .    573, 

the,  resisted,     .         .     • 

the,  verses  on,       .     • 
Italy,  civilization  of,      .     . 


697 

672 

594 
C:4 
391 
393 

470 

270 

475 

/.  /• 
4^0 

(jZ2 

£79 
473 
5^0 
341 


Index, 


711 


PAGE 

Italy,  war  for,  .  .  •  317,  323 
Italian  w^ars,  .  .  317,  323,  339 
Isabella,  death  of,  .  .  342,  343 
Isabella    Farnese,  wife    of 

Philip  v.,  .  .  .  562,  571 
Isabella  of  France,  death  of,  4S7 
Isabella  II.,  .     .     .     .    674,  693 

exile  of, 694 

Islam,  defined, 133 

Islamism  hateful  to  the  Ber- 
bers,   57 


James,  St.,  of  Compostella,  149 

Jayme  1 200,  202 

Jerusalem  captured  by  the 

Crusaders, i8j 

Jesuits,  establishment  of,  .  435 
expelled  from  Spain,  .  .  5S0 
expulsion  of,  by  Charles 

HI. 600 

the,  recalled,   ...        .  646 
Jews,  beginning  of  the  per- 
secutions of,    ....    40 
condition  of,  .    .    .    .     .    6r 
edict  against,.     .     .    312,  313 

trouble  from, 49 

Jovellanos,  Caspar  Melchor 

de, 607,  d-^C) 

recalled, 616 

Juan,  Don,  character  of,      .516 

death  of, 516 

Juan,  Don,  of  Austria,  .     .  491 
captain-general     of     the 
Netherlands,   .     .     .     .515 
Juan  the   Careless,  relaxa- 
tion of  morals  under,  .  232 
Junot,  Marshal,  in  Portugal,  623 


PAGE 

Jurisprudence,  the  Visigoth- 

ie  system, 265 

Khalifate,     dissolution     of 

the, 95 

Kindaswint  the  Fiery,  .  .  44 
Koran,  the,    .     .     .     .    124,  127 

Las  Navas  de  Tolosa,  bat- 
tle of, 199 

Law  among  the  Visigoths,  .  193 
Learning,  stale  of,  ...  Co 
Loiccstcr,  Earl  of,  ...  523 
Le<ipold  of  Ilohenzolleren,  dyj 
Lepanto,  battle  in  the  Gulf 

of, 500 

Lex  Vis'gothorum,      .     .     .  193 
"  Liberal  Union,"  the,     .     .  686 
Liberty,   principles   of    un- 
derstood by  the  Castil- 

ians, 422 

Lisbon,  earthquake,   .     .     .  595 

pillaged, 149 

Literature,  Arabian,  .     .     .  100 

in  Peru, 403 

state  of,      .    82,  89,  102,  544 
Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  An- 
toinette,   601 

Louisiana  sold  to  the  Unit- 
ed States, 621 

treaty  concerning,    .     .     .  599 
Loyola  establishes  the   or- 
der of  Jesuits,     .     .     .  435 
Lucena,  capture  of  Cobadil 

at, 290,  295 

Luther    at    the      Diet     of 

Worms, 416 

death  of, 437 


712 


Index, 


Madrid,  cholera  in,  .  . 

climate  of, .     .     .  . 

Mahomet's  success,  .  . 

Malaga,    a    defeat  in  the 

mountains  of,  .  .  . 


PAGE 

667 

xvii 

lOI 


siege  of. 


288 
301 
298 


481 
421 
480 

467 


651 
592 


situation  of,     .         .     . 
Malplaquet,  battle  of, 
Malta  ceded  to  the  Knights 
of  St.  John,    .     .     . 
Knights  of  St.  John  at, 

siege  of, 

Manuscripts  burned,  .  . 
Margaret  of  Parma,  .  . 
Maria  Christina,  duchess  o 

Berry, 

Maria  Louisa,  death  of, . 

Maria   Louisa,   princess  of 

Parma,   her   vile  influ 

ence,  .     .     .     .    »   604,  607 

Mary  of  England,  death  of,  460 

marriage  of, 458 

Massena,   Marshal,  his  ex 

pedition  to  Portugal, 
Mathematics      among    the 

Arabians,    .... 
Maurice,  death  of,      .     . 

of  Saxony 

Medecine   among  the  Ara 

bians, 

Melancthon   draws   up   the 

Augsburg  Confession, 
Mendoza,  Cardinal,  .  . 
Mexicans,  religion  of, 
Mexico,  conquest  of, .  . 
foundation  of  the  city  of,  382 
the,  of  the  Aztecs,  .  .  .377 
Mezquita,  the,  of  Cordova,  119 


643 

109 

443 
441 

112 

431 

327 
385 
39^ 


PAGE 

Military  orders,      ....  195 
Minorities   of   princes,   the 
curse      of       mediaeval 

Spain, 156 

Misery,  general 672 

Mississippi,    the,      discov- 
ered  405 

Monks,  denunciation  of  the,  671 

Montezuma,  ....    383,  384 

Montpensier,  duke  of,     .     .  6^J 

Moorish  rebellion,      .     .     .  487 

Moors,  banishment  of,    .     .  550 

of  Granada,  treatment  of,  329 

removed  from  Granada,  .  492 

subjugation  of,    .     .     .     .271 

the,  take  up  arms  against 

Philip  IL, 491 

Moral  aspect  of  Spain,  .     xviii 

Morals  relaxed 232 

Moslem   decline,  after   the 

battle  of  Lepanto,  .  .  500 
Mountains  of  Spain,  xviii,  xix 
Mousa-ibn-No9air,  ...  61 
Muncer,    the    revolutionist 

of  Thuringia, ....  425 
Muhlberg,  battle  of,  .  .  .  438 
Murat  at  Madrid,  ....  631 
Music  among  the  Arabians,   no 

Naples,     descent     of     the 

Turks  on, 442 

partition  of  the  kingdom 

of, 339 

Napoleon,  popularity  of,    .  627 
pours  troops  into  Spain, 

628,  629 
supreme  in  Europe,     .     .  622 


Index, 


718 


PAGE 

Narvaez,  head  of  the  "  Mod- 

erados," 680 

Navarre,  hostilities  in,    .     .421 
under  Sancho  the  Great,    163 
Navigators,  the  Spanish,     .  356 
Navy,  the  Spanish,  decline 

of, 635 

Nero, xxxv 

Nestorian  Christians  influ- 
ence Arabian  civiliza- 
tion,    Ill 

Netherlands,  Alva   sent   to 

the 479 

butchery  in  the,  .     .     .     .5:9 
Charles  V.  and  Philip  in 

the, 441 

description  of,    ...     .  461 

independence  of  acknowl- 
edged,    ......  550 

Inquisition      established 

in 470 

Inquisition  in,  ....  466 
peace  with,  ...        559 

petition  for  the  abolition 

of  the  Inquisition,   .     .475 
Philip  II.  visits,  .     .  457 

Philip's  policy  towards,  .  469 

Protestant, 465 

the,  overrun  by  France,  .  55S 
the,  resigned  to  Philip,  .  446 
transferred  to  Isabella,    .  529 

Nice,  truce  of, 432 

Nimwegen,  treaty  of,      .    .  563 
Nitard,  Inquisitor-general, 

560,  <,6z 
Nobility,  the  orders  of  vir- 
tually extinguished,         435 

I 


PAGE 
.     680,    685 
690 


O'Donnell,     .     . 
retirement  of, 
Olivares,   .     .     . 
Omaiyades,  the, 
condition  of  Spain  under 

the, 

Otway's       "  Venice       Pre 

served,".         .     .     . 
Oviedo,  foundation  of,    . 


553 
69 

98 

552 
148 


Pacification  of  Ghent,  the,  513 
Paraguay,  Jesuit  settlement 

i»» 595 

Passau,  peace  of,   .     .         .  442 

Pavia,  battle  of,      ...»  424 

Peace  of  religion,  the,    .     .  442 

Pedro,   Dom,   Emperor   of 

Brazil, 406 

Pedro's  head,  story  of,   .     .221 

Pedro  the  Ceremonious, 

224,  225 

Pedro  the  Cruel,  of  Castile,  215 

Pedro   the   Great,   of   Ara- 

gon, 209 

Pelagius,  story  of, .     .     .     .  140 

Perez,  Garci    de  Vargas,    .  205 

Perez,   Juan,    prior   of    La 

Rabida, 364 

Peru,  conquest  of ,  .     .     .     .  392 

customs  in, 393 

Phenician  navigators,      .      xxiv 

Philosophy  in  Spain,      .    .112 

Philip  of  Anjou,    ....  565 

Philip  IL,  accession  of, .    .  455 

character  of,  .     530,  531,  532 

education  of 455 

horrible  death  of,    .     .     .  530 


714 


Index. 


Index, 


715 


469 
456 

443 
461 


PAGE 

Philip  IT.,  bis  ambition  re- 
garding Spain,    .     .     •  53S 
his  government  of  Spain,  501 
his    policy  towards    tho 
Netherlands,  .... 

life  of, 

marriage  treaty  with  Ma- 
ry of  England,     .    .     ■ 
marries  a  thiid  time,    . 
marries  Mary  of  England,  453 
private  life  of,    ...    •  5°3 
proposes      marriage     to 

Elizabeth  of  England,    461 
takes  measures  to  oper- 
ate against  England, 

travels  of, 

Philip  in.,  reign  of,  .     . 
Philip  IV.,  character  of, 
Philip  v.,  accession  of,  . 

death  of,    ...    • 
Pinzon,Vincente,  discoverer 

of  the  La  Plata, .    . 
Pirates  of   Earbar}',  enter 

prise  against,  .     .    • 
Pizarro,  Francisco,    .    . 
siezes  the  Inca,  .    .    • 
Poetry,  Arabian,     102,  105 

in  Castile, 

in  the  old  navigators, .  .361 
Poitiers,  battle  near,  .  .  Z^ 
Pompey  and  Caesar,  .  .  xxxn 
Ponce  de  Leon,  discoverer 
of  Florida,  .... 
Ponce,  Vargas,  satire  by,  . 
Popular  institutions,  .    243,  244 

Population, ^^^ 

Pragmatic    Sanction,     the, 
annulled, 652 


522. 
457 
550 
553 
5^ 
593 

375 

431 

405 
112 
i3i 


PAGE 

Pragmatic     Sanction,     the, 

concurred  in  by  Spain,    592 
Prim,    Marshal,    assassina- 
tion of, 69^ 

"Privilegio  General,"  the, 
the   Magna   Charta  of 

Aragon, -  209 

Progress, ^^ 

under  Philip  V.,      ...  572 
Pronuiiciamento,       the,    of 

Cadiz,     ....    694,  695 
Protestant,   the   name   first 

given, 43° 

Protestantism  established,  .  442 
martyr-fires  of,  in  Spain,  467 
in  the  Netherlands,      .     .  4^5 

progress  of, 4^ 

Protestants,    hostilities     a- 

gainst, 437 

Provence        invaded       by 

Charles  V.,  ....  4^3 
Pueblo,  the,  of  Mexico, .  .  3S4 
Pulgar,  Hernan  Perez  del, .  305, 
Punic  wars, 3""^' 


375 
616 


Quadruple  Alliance,  the,    .  667 

Rabida,  convent  of,  .  .  •  364 
Ramiro,  reign  of,  .  .  .  .  iy> 
Raymond  of  Barcelona,  1 58,  1 59 
Recared  and  Hermenigild, .     33 

Recared's  reign 3*^ 

Recess  of  Augsburg,.     •     -444 
Reformation,  the,  in    Ger- 
many,      417 

Reformed  doctrines  crushed 

out  of  Spain, ....  468 
,  Reform,  seeds  of,  .    .     .    •575 


PAGE 

Reform    under    Ferdinand 
VL  and  Charles  III., 

577,  578.  5S0,  584*  5S5 

Reforms  under  Narvaez,     .  682 

Religion  of  the  Peruvians, .  399 

of  the  Mexicans,     .    .     .  3S5 

under  the  Omaiyades, 

127,  129 
Religious  tyranny,  ...  67 
Republic  proclaimed,     .     .  699 

Retrogression, 604 

Revolution  in  Castile,    .    .421 

the  French, 608 

Richelieu,  death  of,  .  .  .  558 
Rio  Verde,  battle  of  the,  .  296 
Rivers  of  Spain,    .     .     .    .    xx 

Roderic,  tall  of 139 

Roderic,  the  "Last  of  the 

Goths," 50 

Rodrigo  of  Lara,  cruelty  of,  190 
Roland  at  Roncesvalles,  .  146 
Romanism,  opposition  to,  .  694 
Romans  in  Spain, 

xxxi,  xxxii,  XXXV,  xxxvi 

Rome  humbled,     ....  460 

sacking  of,  by  Constable 

de  Bourbon,    ....  426 

Roncesvalles,     .    .     .    .     ,  146 

Royal  statute,  the,  of  1834, 

665,  656 
Ruins  in  Spain,  ,  .  .  xxxix 
Ryswick,  peace  of,     ...  564 

Saguntum,  siege  of,    .    .  xxviii 

St.  James, xxxv 

St.  Quentin,  siege  of,      .  .  459 

Salamanca,  battle  of, .  .  644 


PAGE 

Salic  Law,  the, 260 

the,  abolished,    ....  651 
San  Ildefonso,  palace  of,    .  594 

treaty  of 614 

Santiago,  order  of,      ...  267 
Saragossa  besieged  by  Char- 
lemagne,      71 

second  siege  of,  .  .  .  .  639 
Satire  on  Spanish  affairs,  .  615 
Scholarship,  advance  in,  .  578 
Science,  progress  of,  572,  575 
Scipio  in  Spain,  .  .  .  xxxi 
Segovia,  proclamation  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella 

at, 260 

Self-government  in  Castile,    243 
Selim    II.   resolves    to  ac- 
quire Cyprus, ...       494 

Serrano, 699 

lays  down  his  authority,  .  695 

regent, 697 

Sertorious,  revolt  of, .  .  xxxii 
Seville,  conquest  of,  .  .  .  205 
Sheep  husbandry,  .  .  .  .  xx 
Sidney,  Sir  Philip,  .  .  .  523 
Sienna,  revolt  of,   ...    .  442 

Sierras,  the, xvii 

Slavs,  increasing  power  of,      94 
Smalkalde,  League  of,    .    .431 
Social  condition,    .     .     .  60,  98 
Social   condition   of   Spain 
under    Ferdinand    and 

Isabella, 269 

Social  order  in  Mexico,  .    .  383 
Social  organization  among 

the  Peruvians,     ,    ,     .  394 
Solyman,  movements  of,    .  431 


il 


716 


Index, 


PAGE 

Solyman    the    Magnificent 

attacks  Rhodes,  .     •     .421 
Soult,  Marshal,  his  expedi- 
tion to  Portugal,      .    .  639 
South  America,  revolts  in, .  646 
Spanish  character,      .     .     .240 
Spain  under  Philip  II.,  •    •  5°^ 
Speyer,  Diet  of,     ....  43° 
Strabo  on  the  primitive  in- 
habitants,   ....     xxiii 
Succession,  war  of  the,  261,  587 
Suevi,  downfall  of  the,   .    .    34 
Superstition, ^^ 


Talleyrand, 620 

Taric-ibn-Ziyad,     ....    62 
Taxation,  heavy,  in  Spain,    432 

svstem  of, 542 

Taxes  increased,    .    •    •    -55^ 
Templars,    order    of,    dis- 
solved,     213 

Theodosius  the  Great,    .  18,  21 
Theology  among  the   Ara- 
bians,       106 

Titicaca,  island  of,      ...  400 

Toledo,  fall  of 84 

Toulouse,       kingdom      of 

founded, 27 

Tours,  battle  of,  .  •  •  •  7° 
Trafalgar,  battle  of,  .  .  .621 
Trent,  Council  of, .  .  •  •  437 
Trinidad,  battle  of,  .  •  •  614 
Tunis,  capture   of  by  Don 

Juan 500 


PAOE 

Valencia,  fall  of,  ...  •  201 
Valetta,  capital  of  Malta,  .  481 
Vargas  Ponce,  satire  by,  •  616 
Vasco  de  Gama,  .  •  •  -371 
"  Venice    Preserved,"    the, 

of  Otway, 552 

Vergara,  treaty  of,  ...  674 
Vervins,  treaty  of, .  .  .  .  529 
Villaviciosa,  battle  of,  .  .  559 
Vincent,  St.,  battle  of,  .  •  614 
"  Virginius  affair,"  the,  .  .  70T 
Viriates  of  Lusitania,  .  xxxi 
Visigoths  in  Spain,  ...  17 
Visigothic  system  of  juris- 
prudence,     265 


Utrecht,  peace  of, ....  59^ 

treaty  of 570 

union  of, 52° 


Wamba's  reign,      .     .     •     •     45 
Wealth,  increase  of,  .     .    -130 
Wellesley,    Arthur     (after- 
wards   duke    of    Wel- 
lington),        638 

Wellington  in  Portugal,      .  643 

in  Spain, 638 

William    of     Orange    (the 

Silent),  a  Calvinist, .     .  47^ 
accused  by   Margaret  of 

Parma, 4^9 

at  Cateau-Cambresis,  .     .  460 
against  the  Inquisition, 

47  3»  474 
at  the  head  of  affairs,      .  520 

death  of, 521 

unites  Holland  and  Zea- 
land,   513 

William  of  Orange,  .    .    .5^3 

deatn  of 5^^ 

Women    at    the     siege    of 
Granada, 281 


hidex. 


717 


PAGE 

Women,  beauty  of  the  An- 

dalusian, 275 

Worms,  Diet  of,    .     .     .     .416 
Worship,  limited   freedom 
of, 702 

Xeres  de  la  Frontera,  bat- 
tle of,      52,  54 

Ximenes,  Cardinal, 

ZV^  333'  346 

character  of, 411 

regent, 4^^ 

Ximene  the  Heroic,  .     .    .  179 

Yousof,  king  of  Morocco,  .  186 


PAGE 

Yuste,  described 449 

retirement  of  Charles  V. 
to,      ...    446,  449,  450 

Zahara,  capture  of,     .    •       281 
Zahra.  palace  of,  at  Cordo- 
va,       120 

Zallaca,  battle  of,  ...    .  186 
Ziryab    becomes     a    legis- 
lator,   76 

Zumalacarregui,     his     per- 
sonal appearance,     .     .  668 
Tomas,  joins  Don  Carlos, 

661,  668 
Zutphen,  battle  of,      ...  523 


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